


Is This Real Life?? (HIATUS)

by bradhadair2706



Category: Actor AU - Fandom, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Real Person Fiction, Robert Downey Jr - Fandom, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: AU, Actors, F/M, Funny, Future work related abuse, I still hate making tags, Kidnapping, Love, Marvel - Freeform, Moving, Relationship(s), Sex, US Marshal, What am I doing, cursing, i hate making tags, life - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-16
Updated: 2016-06-29
Packaged: 2018-05-02 00:26:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 67,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5226893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bradhadair2706/pseuds/bradhadair2706
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What happens when a vacationing US Marshal meets a Hollywood Actor... read and find out</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Meeting

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Courtlynn519](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Courtlynn519/gifts).



> I don't own any of the real life actors mentioned in this story. I do however own my own characters that are mentioned throughout it.  
> I couldn't decided if I wanted to upload this story since it's still a work in progress and I have my other story I'm working on and about 50 more ideas running through my head along with school, but I figure if I have all of you harping at me I'd actually finish this one... maybe hehe

Yay! Finally on vacation, I’ve been counting down to this day for a year. Trust me when you work for the US Government as a Marshal you look forward to the small things in life, you know things like a vacation! 

Anyways, me and my friend Katie decided hey vacation? Same time? Sure why not. Because I mean really who wants to break in a new partner that will only be around for a week and a half? Ummm… not me. Hell no! I guess neither did Katie for that matter.

I met Katie her freshmen year at college and we became instant friends. We went our separate ways when she joined the Police Academy and I went on to get my bachelors. We still saw each other, whether it was for her graduation or mine or just to get drinks on the weekend, either way we both had the same end career goal: The US Marshals. 

This is exactly where we ended up and ironically as partners, which leads me to where we are now. Vacation such a wonderful word, so here we are in New York. Can someone please explain to me why we chose the coldest damn time of the month to come here? It feels like its below 0 degrees I mean I know it’s only 20 degrees, but still. I hate the cold, its sucks butt. I’m blaming this on Katie; this had to be her crazy ass decision.

I know she really can’t control the weather or when our busy asses can take an actual vacation, but what was it with her loving the cold jeez! We aren’t penguins or polar bears. I’m a summer baby for Christ’s sake. I need beaches and sunshine. Instead I’m standing outside a Starbucks, in the middle of some New York City side street, bundled up in my black pea coat and scarf, reading a text from my sister with a nice cup of hazelnut hot chocolate in my hands waiting on Katie to bring her slow ass so we can get to sightseeing. 

We got in late last night so we couldn’t really begin our adventures until this cold ‘effing morning. Of course my internal bitching has me roaming around the walkway instead of actually paying attention to where I’m walking or to who is around me, so imagine my surprise when I am now wearing said yummy hot chocolate all over my nice warm coat, because my ass ran smack into a very solid individual. Oh yeah, it couldn’t be some random John Doe could it? No of course not. It had to be someone hot, gorgeous, sexy whichever word you like most and to add on to it, it had to be someone famous! Really?! My luck just sucked. Katie was always saying these things happen for a reason and they seemed to always happen to me, of course she found humor in it. These things seemed to somehow happen when I was least expecting it, like right freaking now. 

So low and behold I’ve managed to run right into the one and only Robert Downey Jr. I mean seriously what the fuck!? I look like a looney toon just staring at him; it seems my voice box doesn’t want to work, yay for more awkwardness and now *face-palm* moment which is exactly what I did. 

“Jeez I’m so sorry! I wasn’t paying attention and completely spaced out, I really am incredibly sorry! I’m Elizabeth by the way most people call me Liz, though not that you should really care. Sorry I start to ramble when I’m nervous. Shit I said that out loud I’m going to shut up now.” Way to make an awesome first impression, idiot.

“I think I’m the one who ran into you, so I should actually be apologizing. I was dealing with emails. I’m completely useless without my first cup of coffee. I’m Ro-“

“Trust me I know who you are no need to be all formal”, now I sound like a pompous ass, please earth swallow me whole. Thank all that is holy for Katie’s impeccable timing, because about the time I’m putting my foot in my mouth, she comes out of Starbucks and completely freezes. I honestly saw the realization cross her face and the starts of what looked to be a fan-girl scream. So I did that first thing that came to mind and kicked her in the shin. Yes, I’m mean, but she’s known this  
for years and deals with my awful temperament, but it still didn’t stop the scowl from forming on her face.

“Seriously Liz? You’ve resorted to kicking today? Are we five again?” I blinked at her owlishly. 

“Five? Really? That’s the best comeback you’ve got on this beautiful, colder than Antarctica, morning? Plus my kicking is better than your screaming. I’ve heard that screech, it can shatter glass.” I grinned without shame. Instead of retorting to the insult, like I was hoping for, Katie turned back to Robert, who had been watching our exchange with extreme amusement.

“Hi! I’m Katherine. Everyone calls me Katie, unless I’m in trouble, in which case I ignore them, and I definitely know who you are. Sorry about the almost freak out. We’ve never met anyone famous and honestly we weren’t expecting to on vacation.” She extended her hand to shake his; he took her hand saying, “Vacation? Really? When did you both get in?”

“Last night”, we responded in unison. Which wasn’t actually unusual it tended to freak people out a bit. We’ve been friends for so long that we sort of stopped noticing that we were on the same brain wave length; it’s what makes us so good at our jobs. 

Robert looked at us grinning, “Sisters?”

I just laughed and replied, “Partners”, which of course led to an awkward silence and strange looks from him in exchange. 

“Oh… Oh really? I didn’t know-“

“Shit! Not like that, sheesh we are work partners and friends in college before that. Men have such dirty minds.” I mean really why was that always the first thought now days? What if I started questioning all the bromances in the world? I didn’t go about labeling everyone. Gah!! I looked over at Katie, who is trying her hardest and failing miserably, not to laugh at Robert’s facial expression at my outburst. 

“You should have seen your face just now! Holy crap it was priceless”, she said while trying to control her giggles.

Thank god he didn’t take offense to either one of us. I’m so use to saying whatever comes to my mind whether it sounds rude or not, so the fact I kind of yelled at a major movie star didn’t cross my mind until after the said yelling had already occurred. Needless to say my face was cherry red, which looks really strange on someone with auburn hair. Robert just kept on like nothing ever happened and asked how long we were staying. By this point we had both gathered our composure back. 

“Umm… Our actual vacation is supposed to be a week and a half, but anything could happen”, I stated while checking the time. We had been standing there for a good thirty minutes and as gorgeous as this man is, it’s cold and we only had a limited amount of sunshine to see all the sights. I guess he noticed and realized he still had places to be, because his eyes got extremely wide, which to be honest was quite comical, and rushed out that he had some press junkets he was late for. What I wasn’t expecting were the next words that came out of his mouth.

“I would like to take you out tonight to make up for spilling your drink all over you. Would you be interested in dinner? Of course, I get that you both are on vacation so Katie, you should definitely join us”, as Robert turned to her. We were both quite shell shocked, before we could respond he was already talking again, with a mischief look in his eyes, “oh and I have the perfect person to round out this little dinner with”. 

Katie and I just looked at each other in that; holy shit is this really happening, kind of way. Just to make sure this was all really happening, Katie pinched me which in turn caused me to yelp in pain a bit and Robert to turn and look at us. Thanks bitch! But it was definitely not a dream.

“So where are you two staying? We can just pick you both up on the way to the restaurant.”

“Uh sorry what?” and there went all the brain cells that I had left. How could this be real? He looked at me with a grin, like this reaction happened all the time, which being who he is and all, it probably did.

“Dinner? Tonight? The four of us. What hotel?” He asked slower to make sure we got it this time, which earned him a glare on my part. Katie was faster than I was and gave him our hotel name and room number. What she didn’t tell me was she also gave him my cell phone number. At this point we went our separate ways with him yelling out to be ready by 7pm. Of course we forgot to ask who the fourth person would be and that should be interesting to see. Now that the initial what the hell reaction wore off I started flipping the fuck out. What in the world just happened? Was this for real? What were we going to wear? Where were we going? Who is that fourth damn person going to dinner with us? Katie could see my rising panic and shook me to get my attention.

“Let’s go shopping”, she said. Honestly this girl hates, I mean absolutely abhors shopping, but she knew it would help take my mind off of tonight, even if just a little while. “I’ll even let you help me pick out my outfit for tonight.”


	2. Pre-Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pre-dinner shopping... rambles... yeah idk what to put here

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I still don't own the real life actors... sad day

I think I was having an out of body experience. Not only did I just meet Robert Downey Jr., he asked us out to dinner and now Katie was giving me permission to help her shop? What was going on with today? Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with the way Katie looks, but she is the furthest from a girly-girl you will ever meet. I’ve only see in her in a dress once and that had taken a lot of pleading, begging, blackmail and outright threatening. She liked her comforts, which only included jeans, so it was safe to say she was more on the tomboy side of clothes, but tonight was a huge deal, so it was time to get her in another dress.

Katie was short like me, we barely made it to 5’1, she had short blonde hair, which can only be described as pixie-like, you know like Ginnifer Goodwin’s in Once Upon a Time, and pretty blue eyes. Thankfully the red streaks she had put in her hair the week before, for an undercover job, had all faded out, mine not so much. I was still sporting teal blue streaks in my long auburn hair, not that I had a problem with it, but I had no idea how Robert or his friend were going to react to that, or my tattoos for that matter. I loved my tattoos and they made undercover work so much easier. I look like a normal person instead of law enforcement.

Anyways, it’s time to go shopping in Times Square! How many times in my life will I have the opportunity to say that? Not many I can assure you of that. The panic had finally subsided into some excitement at the prospect of shopping. Whereas Katie hated shopping, I loved it, and now I can dress her up like my own personal Barbie! HA! She might kill me before dinner. About the time we hit Times Square, my phone went off. Most of the people I talked to on a normal basis have their own ringers, so to hear the generic ringtone I set for text messages, was a little odd. I looked down to see a text from a number I didn’t recognize. 

_**It was nice to meet you today, even if you did make me late to my first interview ;) make sure you’re ready by 7 and wear something nice, but not too fancy – RDJ**_

I think I read the text message at least 5 times. Did Robert Downey Jr just text me? And did he just send me a winkey face? How in Christ’s name did he get my number? Katie looked over my shoulder to see why I looked so confused. 

“Holy shit! I didn’t think he was serious!”

I turned around to look at her, “huh? What are you talking about?”

“Robert asked me for your number earlier. I didn’t think he would actually text you or that you would care to be honest” she stated. 

I looked at her with wide eyes, “wait what? Seriously! Why?”

“Why what? You’re not making any sense Liz, just text the man back.”

“What the fuck do I say?” I mumbled to myself.

_**Umm sir you were the one running your mouth, so technically you made yourself late :) How are the interviews going? - Liz**_

Meh wasn’t my best attempt at a flirt, but seeing as the man is married I shouldn’t be flirting in the first place, but come on this is RDJ it’s hard not to. I put my phone back in my coat pocket and entered our first store, by the time we made it to our third store of the day I felt my phone go off again.

_**Sorry about the late reply these interviews last a lifetime :) They are going well boring mostly, but hey I have Chris to keep me from dying and no I’m still blaming you for making me late. What are you two up to? - RDJ**_

_**AWW you poor baby, what movie are the interviews for? Yeah, how about no, you being late is all on you. I’m shopping, such a nice way to spend my day. –Liz**_

_**If I told you what they were for then I would have to kill you and that would sort of put a kill on dinner tonight ;) fine it was my own fault for being late, but how could I not stick around to talk to such a beautiful woman such as yourself? Shopping huh? Anything good? – RDJ**_

I had to read that text a couple of times. Did he really just call me beautiful? This is definitely a dream. I will wake up anytime now in the hospital with a concussion from being ran over outside of Starbucks. Katie walked up to me holding a pair of shoes.

“Hey what’s up with you?” She looked a little concerned with my eyes wide and face with a huge blush across it. I just handed her my phone and let her read our messages thus far.

“Well shit. I think he has a thing for you.” She said as she handed my phone back to me.

“There is no way. The man is famous and MARRIED! He just was being nice that’s all. Hey I like those shoes. I think they will go great with what you are wearing tonight, you should get them.”

“Way to change the subject, but yeah I like them too. Hey don’t tell me the thought has never crossed your mind to sleep with him.”

“I wasn’t actually changing the subject; I just didn’t want you to put those down, and as for, has that thought ever crossed my mind yes, yes it has, but that was before I thought I would ever meet the man. That’s what we call a fantasy, meeting the person isn’t supposed to actually happen.” I turned around and spotted a pair of heels that would be perfect for the outfit I had already bought at the previous store. “Let’s go check out now; we still have some time to grab a cup of coffee before we head back to the hotel.”

I put my scarf and hat back on after we had checked out and stepped outside. Although it was cold you couldn’t deny that this place was pretty amazing. I could get used to it here. What am I even thinking about? I love where I live, it’s nice and warm and I have a great job. There’s something about this place though, the fast pace, the amazing stores, maybe when it’s time for a transfer I’ll come here. I wonder what Katie would say to that. I’ll bring it up sometime during the vacation and see how she reacts. Katie is a country girl, always has been, I don’t actually know how she would take living in such a big city. We walked to the nearest Starbucks to grab a cup of coffee and then headed to the closest subway station so we could start getting ready. While at Starbucks I had the idea we should splurge a little for tonight and go get our nails and make-up done, might as well have a little fun. We had just boarded the subway when I realized I hadn’t text Robert back, now I felt horrible.

_**Hey sorry I got caught up in shopping and hair and make-up and I don’t know why I told you all that –Liz**_

I didn’t expect an instant reply, so I put my phone back in my pocket and got ready to get off the subway with Katie. It was time to get ready for dinner and who knew what else. We got our hotel door unlocked and put on some music, time to jam out while finishing up. 

The hair salon had an amazing make-up artist on site, so that help with time, not that we were really pressed for it, but it helped with not having to run around. Katie had her blonde hair styled with her long bangs to the side, the make-up artist had given her this amazing smokey eye that made her blue eyes stand out and a beautiful red lip stain that contrasted wonderfully with her pale skin, she was already dressed in a burgundy off the shoulder, three-quarters length shirt and black skinny jeans that she had bought from the second shop we had hit and was in the process of putting on the most amazing pair of red and black Louboutin heels she had picked up at the last store we were in. I was in the process of finishing up when my phone went off again.

_**Hello lovely, we should be there in the next 10 minutes just wanted to make sure you two were almost ready –RDJ**_

_**Well I would be if some crazy man wasn’t blowing up my phone :) –Liz**_

_**Oh really? Who is this crazy man you speak of? ;) –RDJ**_

_**Just some guy, I just don’t know what to do with him – Liz**_

I put my phone down to put my heels on. I had grabbed some black skinny pants that hit around my shins with a black bandeau and dark teal tank with a low slung back that I absolutely loved. The Steve Madden lace heels I bought at the last store cost me an arm and a leg, but they were absolutely perfect. I had my auburn and teal hair curled and the make-up artist completed my look with a black smoky eye with a splash of teal in the corner that made my ice blue eyes pop even more than they already did. I checked the time to make sure we still had a couple of minutes to get downstairs, I would feel bad to make the guys come all the way up here when we were all ready to go.

“Hey Katie, are you ready to go?”

“Yeah, I’ve been ready, just waiting on you.” She turned away from the full length mirror we had in our room and grabbed her black leather jacket and purse, usually she didn’t carry one but it was kind of hard to put your badge somewhere hidden when you were wearing certain things. I put on my black pea coat and purse she handed me and headed for the door with Katie behind. Just saying, elevators suck! Neither one of us liked them; they were just as bad as stairs. 

Though disliking stairs was for a completely different reason than elevators, have you ever been in a shoot-out in a stairwell? Yeah it’s a real blast, note my massive sarcasm there. Elevators were just claustrophobic and the fears of either getting stuck in one of them, or you know it just falling from the floor we were currently on. In heels though our only option was the elevator, so that’s where we were on our way down from the 10th floor. When the doors slid open it was to Robert in dark jeans, a black t-shirt, and black blazer, the man looked delicious. How can someone seriously be that hot? I thought I heard a sharp intake of breath, but chose to ignore it thinking I had probably just imagined it.

“Isn’t there supposed to be someone with you”, I asked with a grin.

“He’s in the car, you both look lovely this evening”, he said while offering me his arm. “You look absolutely stunning”, he whispered in my ear and with a voice like his I thought all my insides would melt. This man’s voice was low, seductive like honey. I don’t think I’m going to make it through this night without my knees giving out or heart failure. Katie hadn’t heard the last words spoken to me and gave me a questioning look. This is when being friends had its perks, all I had to do was give her a certain look and a tilt of my head and she knew I would tell her later, she gave me a slight nod in response to let me know she understood. The life of a Marshal, sometimes those silent markers saved your life. We all walked out into the freezing cold to the car that was waiting for us. Holy fuck it was colder than… you know what I’ve never been this cold so I don’t even have anything to compare this to.

“Jesus fuck, it’s cold!” I exclaimed as we climbed into the car. 

“Yeah it’s definitely not something we’re use to”, Katie said as she got in after me.

The partition was up separating us from the front so we still didn’t know who our fourth guest was. Robert had gotten into the front seat after closing our door and was remaining tight lipped about who he was with. Katie and I watched the scenery pass us by. I don’t think it had honestly really hit us that we were in New York City and then you top that with dinner with not one but possibly two movie stars. We had just planned to go on vacation, do some sight-seeing, and relax a bit before going back to our job, but this, this was beyond dreams. The car stopped and Robert opened the door for us, once the doors were shut the driver drove off.

“I thought you said our guest was in the car”, Katie said as she watched the car’s tail lights fade.

“Yeah I know, but I wanted to keep you in the dark a little bit longer.” Robert had a huge grin on his face. “He’s actually already here waiting at our table.”

“Someone likes to either lie or give people heart attacks with his surprises”, I said with a smirk on my face.

“I just like surprises; Katie said that the two of you never thought you would meet any famous people so I thought introducing you to another would be fun.” I smiled up at him and Katie laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I know i'm getting to the dinner I promise... after the dinner it will be easier for me to separate my words into chapters... I think... actually I really hope it is or y'all will keep getting random endings...


	3. Dinner & Dancing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dinner time with an expected addition and some fun dance club time with a few unexpected guests

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still don't own said actors...

We walked into the restaurant and waited for Robert to talk to the host. Next thing we knew, we were walking towards the back of the restaurant where we saw the back of a man sitting at a table alone. Well then, this must be our fourth, jeez enough with the suspense already I’m too old for this shit. As we approached the table the man stood up and turned around. Jesus effing Christ it was Chris Evans. I mean really, come on, no man should look that good in a long sleeve navy blue shirt, jeans, and a brown leather bomber jacket. I’m still not convinced that I’m not laid up in some hospital room dying. I heard Katie take a sharp breath and her eyes go huge. I didn’t know what was funnier me over here thinking I’m dying in a hospital or her facial expression.

“Good evening ladies”, Chris said in his deep rumbling voice. He offered the both of us his hand to shake. “Robert told me we were having dinner, but he failed to mention how beautiful you both are.” I don’t think my face could get any redder. I envy Katie and her cool collected demeanor, but if you looked at her eyes anyone would be able to see she was barely keeping it together. 

“It’s nice to meet you Mr. Evans”, I stated while I shook his hand, “I’m Elizabeth, but you can just call me Liz, this is Katie.” I motioned towards Katie who had finally gained enough composure to shake his hand. 

“Please call me Chris. It’s nice to meet you both, Robert wouldn’t shut up about why he was late this morning, so I had no problem coming to dinner when he invited me first thing this morning. I’m glad I didn’t miss the chance to have dinner with you guys.”

He may have been talking to us both, but one I’m not blind and two, I can read a person better than most and this man couldn’t take his eyes off of Katie. I was kind of excited for her, not many people knew that she had a huge thing for this man, but hey not many people get to meet their celebrity crush. Robert was already sitting down across from where Chris was originally sitting before we joined him. When I looked up to see where he had disappeared to, I noticed he was staring at me so intently it was enough to take my breath away. He just grinned and winked at me. 

“We’re going to run to the bathroom real quick” Katie stated before she realized she didn’t actually know where the bathroom was located. Chris noticed she looked slightly confused and just pointed us in the direction of where they were. “Thanks darlin’”, she said with a smile before grabbing my hand and walking off.

“Okay spill what was up with you when we got out of the elevators?” Katie had turned to me with a ‘you better explain’ look on her face.

“Ha! That man is going to be the death of me”, I said in an almost panicked voice.

She looked at me with concern in her eyes, “which one Chris or Robert?”

I gave her a droll look, “really? You know who I’ve had a thing for, for years. Which hello, by the way have you not noticed that Chris has been eyeing you since I told him your name?” Katie looked at me like I was crazy, “I think you have lost your gift of reading people Liz.” 

“No really I’m serious, that man was so zoned in to you that I ceased to exist once he laid eyes on you, but to answer your question Robert was whispering how beautiful I was in my ear. I’m dying in some hospital bed right now, this isn’t really happening.”

It was Katie’s turn to look at me like I was stupid. “If that were the case then I’m in the hospital room next to yours.” All I could do was laugh as we entered the bathroom.

“Why are we in here exactly? I don’t need to pee at this precise moment and I’m about to starve. I don’t know if you remember, but we kind of skipped lunch and all I’ve had is coffee.” I turned to see that Katie might very well be having a panic attack. “Hey! Look at me! Are you ok?” She nodded at me with a huge grin across her face.

“Yeah I’m great now. I needed a second to get my shit together before we sat down to spend the entire dinner with those two.”

“Don’t do that to me ass! I thought you were having a fucking panic attack.” I smacked her arm lightly. I could see how excited she was for this night and to be honest I couldn’t wait to see where this would go.

At that moment my phone went off. I looked at the screen to notice that I had a text message from Robert.

_**Do I need to send a search and rescue team into the bathroom? Or did you both run out of the restaurant? –RDJ** _

_**Aren’t you just a bucket full of laughs today? We will be out in a minute you impatient man. –Liz,/strong >** _

“What was that all about?” Katie asked while she washed her hands. 

“Apparently Robert is a very impatient man and asked if he needed to send a search and rescue team in here to find us.” She just looked at me through the mirror and laughed. 

As we walked out of the bathroom to head back to our table my phone rang. How strange… I haven’t heard that ringtone in a while. Katie looked at me with a questioning look in her eyes. I decided to just go ahead and answer.

“Well hello Avery, long time no talk.” Avery was one of my oldest friends she was a bit younger than I was, but a little older than Katie. It’s not that I wasn’t excited to hear from her, but I was little shocked, last I checked she was on a job. Around the time I answered my phone, Robert rounded the corner. I guess we were taking longer than he was ok with. Seriously this man needed to reign in his impatient horses. Of course she was going a mile a minute on the other end of the line while I wasn’t paying attention, “Hey Ave I’m about to sit down for dinner. Is there anything you needed? Is everything ok? I mean not that it’s not great to hear from you.”

“Oh Liz, I’m sure dinner can wait I have some awesome news and you were the first person I wanted to call. I’m moving to New York! Actually I’m here right now. I just got in, isn’t that amazing!?” 

“Yeah Avery that’s great, I’m excited for you darlin. I’m actually here myself how about we meet up somewhere tomorrow if you don’t have anything planned, me and Katie are here for vacation, but I’m at dinner with some people let me call you back when I get back to my hotel tonight.” Jeez all I wanted to do was eat for Christ’s sake. Katie had left me at this point with just Robert, that girl I swear I can’t believe she just left me here with him all alone! I think I have forgotten to breath. 

“You’re here? Really? Yeah we can definitely meet up sometime tomorrow, enjoy your dinner. Bye.”

I hung up the phone in a slight daze; Robert was still staring at me with this look in his eyes that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. “Can I help you sir?” I asked coyly. 

“Actually I’m the search and rescue team ma’am. What was that all about?” He asked pointing to my phone.

“Oh are you now? That was just one of my friends. Apparently she up and moved to New York today. She was calling to exclaim how excited she was, though to be honest I have no idea why she is here or why she called me first, usually I’m the second person she calls. That’s the first time I’ve heard from her in a few weeks though.” I shrugged and started to walk away; just when I passed him he grabbed my arm and spun me around. The next thing I know Robert’s lips are hovering right over mine in almost a questioning way. I leaned in the last few centimeters and kissed him.

Let me just say right here and now I’m not typically a very aggressive person, well not in relationships, unless there is a massive amount of alcohol involved, give me my gun though and I’m one scary bitch, but there was something about this man that made my blood boil. It was like being consumed by fire, the passion was there, the want was there, I mean holy shit the lust was definitely there, so why you ask did I push this man away? Food! I know, I know, but I haven’t ate all day and this man makes me weak to my knees and not having any food in my system was making me weak in my knees and I’m wearing heels come on it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out I would probably make a fool out of myself if I didn’t go sit down and eat right now. He rested his forehead against mine and smiled.

“Hey gorgeous. Are you ok?”

I nodded, “yeah just need to eat I’m about to pass out”. He just grinned and grabbed my hand, lacing our fingers together. When we got to the table Katie and Chris were talking about the interviews he had today. They seemed so engross in each other, they didn’t even notice that we had joined them.

“Hey guys are you ready to get this night really started?” Robert asked, rubbing his hands together maniacally. Uh-oh… this cannot be good. I mean like at all. Katie gave me a look like she was ready to run if I was, main problem is we had learned the hard way that running in heels was not the best course of action, so we were very much stuck in whatever crazy plan had crossed this beautiful man’s mind. Chris gave Katie a look that read he already knew what to expect, because I’m sure   
filming with him had not been dull. 

I took the bait and asked what he had in mind. He turned to look at me beside him and smirked. 

“There’s this really nice place that is pretty exclusive. Its dance club, how about after dinner we hit that up and have some real fun?” Fuck it! It’s our vacation and I’m going to have some fun. Katie nodded which, in turn, meant Chris was down to go, anyone could see that man was willing to go anywhere if Katie was going. She of course is oblivious to anything that is going on. She had already removed her jacket and looked quite comfortable, with her glass of wine and smile. She actually looked like this is exactly where she belonged, next to a gorgeous movie star, like she did this every night. I stood up and removed my coat about the time the waitress stepped up to our table.

“Is there anything I can get you started with this evening?” She asked. I ordered a glass of wine while sitting back down. She was back not a minute later with my drink. I took a sip and sighed happily. I love wine. I think I could drink it all the time, although I’m sure that would be frowned upon in my line of work. Katie sat across from me laughing. I flicked the bird at her, it’s my vacation too dammit I’m going to drink if I want to drink. 

“You know, that behavior is quite rude”, Katie said with laughter in her voice.

“Yeah sue me, I never said I wasn’t a rude person and you of all people should know that.” I replied with a wink towards my friend. I took another sip of wine and realized Robert was really quite. When I glanced over I noticed him staring at my left arm. Oh yeah my tattoos…. Well let’s see how this goes. “You’re mighty quiet over there; care to share with the rest of the class what is going on in that head of yours?” His gazed snapped up to pin me with a look in his eyes that honestly I wasn’t quite ready to admit. 

“No, I think I will keep it to myself for a little bit longer, thank you.” His response worried me a little bit, but we all went back to talking. Katie and Chris excused their selves to go grab another drink at the bar. I turned in my seat to look at Robert.

“We need to talk”, I stated. 

“What about?”

“Oh I don’t know how about that kiss. You’re married! It’s not that I didn’t enjoy it, because trust me I did, but you are married man, and I can’t say that cheating is on my list of things to do while on vacation.” He looked a little speechless by the end of my rant and looked up to see if Katie and Chris we’re still at the bar. He looked back at me and took a deep breath.

“Actually… I’m not really married.” Well hello brick wall! Nice to meet you. That was not what I thought was going to come out of his mouth. The last time I had read a magazine involving this man it was to announce that he was married.

“What do you mean, ‘not really married’?” I’m completely flabbergasted. 

“Exactly what it means, it was a publicity stunt.” Really? That’s the reply I get? I moved my hands in a motion for him to continue, because I still didn’t understand what the fuck was really going on. He looked at me like he couldn’t quite decide if here and now were a good place to tell me.

“When I finally decided I needed to get my shit together, I had kind of put a number on my image and career. My publicist said we need to do something drastic, one that showed that I was getting my life back together. At the time, I had a rehab psych that was with me a good portion of the time and tabloids assumed we were dating, so my publicist used that to his advantage. We ‘got engaged’, then got ‘married’, this was a way to keep her with me to make sure I didn’t ‘fall of the wagon’ and also to explain why she was always with me.” He looked at me to see if he could gauge my reaction.

“Oh…” oh come on really!?!? Come on brain get with the program ‘oh’ could not really be all that I could think of, seriously!? Then again what do you really say to that? That was a bombshell of a confession. Now I didn’t feel so bad about the kiss, which gave me the opportunity to start freaking a little bit about the fact we had actually kissed.

“What about your kids?” 

“Indio is mine”, I rolled my eyes at him, “I know that, he was before Susan”, honestly men, he knew I was referring to the son that he had had since being ‘married’ to Susan. 

“Exton… well he isn’t mine, Susan has been with her boyfriend for a while now, which by the way is hard to hide from the paparazzi, but they are happy. I am his godfather though. Susan and I have our separate lives outside of the public and since the marriage is a sham, so to speak, it’s not cheating.” He said giving me a very pointed look. How do you respond to that? How had I not seen this, I thought I was better at reading people. I really should have been able to see this a long time ago. Ugh! Maybe Katie was right, I’m losing my touch. Speaking of Katie, she and Chris were approaching the table with some trepidation. 

“Hey you two, is everything alright over here?” Katie looked at me specifically when she asked.

“Yeah everything’s great, ready to order some food. Wine on an empty stomach was a good idea when I was younger, not so much now.” I said in response which caused a chuckle from Chris. I smiled up at him in a silent thank you for laughing at my stupid joke. Katie could tell there was more going on that I was letting on, but she would get the truth from me later, come on like I could keep anything this big from her. While waiting on our dinner, the guys decided it was time to ask 21 questions about our life. The only thing they knew at the moment was that we were work partners. 

“So what brings you both to New York”, Chris asked first.

Katie turned to look at him, “vacation, our job is pretty stressful and busy so it’s rare we actually get to take a break longer than a weekend.”

“Stressful? What do you do for a living?” this from Robert.

“We work for the U.S. Government as Marshals”, I replied, and this is where things got really quiet. 

“Wait, you do what?” Chris asked.

“Marshals, you know the guys that kick in the doors and shoot people in the movies? That’s our jobs. Though to be honest the television shows and movies never quite get it right, like this one time we had this awful shoot out in a stairwell, it’s definitely not as glorifying as creators would like to think it is.” Katie said as she took a sip of her wine, about that time our dinner was served. I have never been so happy to see food in my life. We took a little break from talking to enjoy some of our food, after a while questions started back up.

“How do you get away with so many tattoos?” I knew there was going to be a question involving those somehow. I turned to look at Robert who had asked, “Tattoos are allowed, I just can’t have them on my hands or neck and they actually help when you go undercover. It helps me fit in better, which is why I have blue in my hair right now. You both should have seen Katie last week, she had red streaks and a piercings everywhere, it was interesting to say the least. Why do you have a problem with tattoos?” I asked, patiently waiting for a reply. He looked surprised at my question. “What you can ask questions, but I can’t?” 

“That’s not what I said, and no I don’t have a problem with them, they are a part of you and you wear them proudly so why would I have a problem with them?” I was taken back a bit by his response. Katie and Chris just watched on with amusement. 

Dinner was relatively quiet after that, we all joked around, ate our dinner and drank some more wine. I hadn’t realized we had all moved closer so that we could talk without being overheard; it was like being in your own secret club that no one else was allowed to know about. We wrapped up dinner and walked out into the cold, I swear to all that is holy if it drops anymore in temperature I’m going to die of hypothermia! 

Robert must have called his driver at some point because when we walked outside there it was waiting to take us to the club. I’m not a real big club person to begin with, that was always Avery’s scene, not that it was a bad thing, but I’m a really awkward person, karaoke should be fun though. I don’t think Katie really cared what we did at that point; she was so wrapped up in whatever Chris was whispering in her ear, you could have told her we were going to the moon and it wouldn’t have even registered. I looked over at her, all blushes and smiles, well… this was new. I couldn’t help but smile in response. Oh this was prime teasing material for later. We got to the club and walked right in, well that was new; I was definitely used to having to wait in a line to get in. Duh Liz, come on this is an exclusive bar there’s not going to be a line.

The place was huge and was connected to a hotel that was right down the road from where Katie and I were staying, well if anything happens and we need to leave at least I’m not walking all over the city to find my hotel. The bar was a two-story building with deep dark wood tables, chairs, floor, bar and pretty much everything else. When you first walk in, the bar is to your right and booths in front of that, wrapping around the bar were tables and chairs and to the left, could only be described is the dance floor. On the top floor there were two people table and chairs wrapping around the railing so that you can look over and see everything going on downstairs, there was a smaller sitting area with plush chairs, couches and side tables off to the side as well. 

When I looked around I had never seen so many well recognized people in my life. I made sure to check for all the exists when we stepped into the bar, I know I’m supposed to be out having fun, but at the end of the night I’m still a Marshal and some habits don’t die. We followed the guys upstairs to a group of people that were already sitting in a set of plush chairs and couch talking and laughing. 

“I count about four exists, not including the back, I’ll guess about two back there.” I whispered to Katie, she nodded in confirmation that, that was what she had counted out as well, before registering that we had stop. I looked around and realization dawned on me as to the people around us. Holy fucking shit we were joining the whole damn cast of The Avengers. That’s it, its official I’m laid up in a hospital bed, on life support, doomed to spend the rest of my life in a coma. A set of Marshals on vacation just don’t have these types of opportunities. It’s just not possible. Robert had grabbed my hand so that he could move me to stand closer to him; Katie was to my right and Chris beside her. 

“Hello all! Where is Tom? Did no one think to text Tom?” Robert asked.

“We did. He was at dinner with Jeremy and me earlier. He went home to change; he should be on his way soon.” Chris Hemsworth told him, while pointedly looking at Katie and I. “Who did you bring with you and Chris?”

Chris laughed and began introductions he pointed to the chair to the left of the couch where Hemsworth was sitting, “that’s Chris, next to him on the couch is Scarlett, Clark and Jeremy, the lovely Miss Cobie”, he said as he pointed to the chair on the other end of the couch, “and then this wonderful man sitting in the chair in front of us is Mark, that’s it. Everyone this is Katie”, he pointed to her standing next to him, “and that’s Liz” he said gesturing towards me. 

“Hi everyone, it’s an honor to meet all of you.” I said, while Katie nodded her agreement. Jeremy and Clark had gotten up to shake our hands and to give us the option of sitting on the couch with Scarlett, what gentlemen. It was a little weird to be treated like girls, we were so use to being one of the guys at work, that having men offer their seats to us was a little disconcerting. We sat down and got comfortable, while Scarlett finished whatever story she had started before we joined them. The night was going really well so far. It was then I realized I hadn’t texted Avery with a time and place to meet tomorrow. I picked up my phone to check the time and text her real quick. It thankfully was only about 11pm so she should still be awake.

_**Hey there gorgeous ;) sorry I forgot to text. How about you meet me tomorrow morning at around 10am at the breakfast lounge at my hotel –Liz** ___

__I set my phone back in my lap to listen to all the conversations going on with the group. Jeremy had helped Clark pull up a few more chairs and Tom had finally joined us. Robert was sitting across from me with Chris to his left and Tom had taken the chair next to him followed by Jeremy and Clark in between him and Hemsworth. My phone started buzzing in my lap letting me know I was receiving a call. I excused myself to answer it._ _

__“Hey sorry I was going to text back, but calling was faster, 10 works for me. What hotel are you at?” Avery asked as soon as I picked up the phone. I told her the address and told her I would see her tomorrow before I hung up. I walked back to our group and asked Katie if she wanted to walk down to the bar with me to grab a drink. She agreed and excused herself from the conversation she was having with Cobie. Robert turned around in his seat to look at me._ _

__“You know they bring your drinks up to you right? That’s why there are waiters walking about.”_ _

__“Yeah I gathered as much, but I wanted to look around, it’s not often I get to see the inside of such a beautiful place.” I replied._ _

__“So is everything ok?” He asked with a concerned look on his gorgeous features._ _

__“Oh the phone call? Yeah I had texted Avery about tomorrow, she was calling just to confirm plans and ask where I was staying.” I said with a smile, “I’ll be right back.” I turned towards Katie and we journeyed to the bar downstairs. This place really was magnificent, everything was spacious and elegant and so beautiful. We arrived at the bar and waited for our glasses of wine._ _

__While waiting we watched all the going ons of all the people in the place. Watching famous people dance and drink was interesting. The bartender returned with our drinks and we stayed in our seats for little longer at the bar to watch the people on the dance floor. I was entertained just to watch people cut loose, it was even more so when it was famous people. I don’t think I will ever be able to watch a movie without picturing some of them dancing like they were tonight. Katie tapped me on the shoulder and pointed up asking if I was ready to head back up, I nodded and we made our way to the stairs. When we re-joined the group Chris asked what had taken us so long. I looked over at him from my seat._ _

__“We were just looking around, watching people dance.” I said with a grin and sipped my wine._ _

__Chris looked at Katie, “would you like to dance?” I looked over at Katie and laughed. She had a look of pure terror._ _

__“I don’t dance, much less dance like they were”, she stated. Chris stood up and walked over to her side of the couch._ _

__“Maybe all you need is the right dance partner”, with a grin tugging at her lips she took his offered hand, “alright Cap let’s see what you’ve got.”_ _

__All I could do was laugh at what had just occurred. Katie had just surprised the hell out of me. She wasn’t the type to dance, but she also wasn’t one to walk away from a challenge either, but dancing? I looked up over my wine glass to see Robert staring at me; I looked at him and arched my eyebrow in a questioning manner. He cocked his head to the side with a smirk before getting up and grabbing my glass, sitting it down on the table in front of me._ _

__“Let’s go dance”, he said after grabbing my hand._ _

__“I haven’t danced like that, since I was in college are you crazy?” I said while walking down the stairs. What have I gotten myself into? What threw me off even more was seeing Katie and Chris dancing like there was no tomorrow. I think my jaw fell to the floor which amused the hell out of Robert, if his laugh was anything to go by. I looked back at Katie committing the scene to memory, if she didn’t remember tonight I would get great amusement out of telling her._ _

__“Alright hot shot let’s see what you’ve got then.” I grabbed ahold of his hand and led him to the middle of dancing bodies. Apparently your body never really forgets how to dance, if dancing is what you called this, to be honest it was more like sex, all hot bodies, grinding and sweat. I had forgotten how all-consuming dancing could be. The beat flowing through your body, swaying back and forth, with another’s hands on your hips, you get lost in a whole other world. The alcohol rushing in my bloodstream had given me more courage than usual; I had my arms above my head wrapped around Robert’s neck, his arms around my waist, I could feel every part of this man against me and it was intoxicating. We danced for a handful of songs until I thought I would die from either exertion or dehydration, so we left the floor to head to the bar._ _

__I noticed that Chris and Katie had left, but hadn’t seen them yet. I grabbed a bottle of water and another glass of wine. We shared the bottle of water before heading back upstairs hand in hand. I still hadn’t spotted Katie yet and was starting to get worried until I walked around the chairs to the still empty spot on the couch and there she was sitting in Chris’s lap carrying on a very detailed conversation with Clark, who had moved to sit beside them. I didn’t get a chance to say anything before I was pulled to a side alcove by Robert. I looked at him questioningly before he crashed his mouth onto mine. All my senses were overwhelmed by him. He had me pinned against the wall behind me, hands wandering up and down my sides; I ran my fingers through his short hair pulling slightly which elicited a slight moan from him. He was killing me. When we finally pulled away we were both breathless._ _

__“I’ve been wanting to do that since I ran into you this morning”, he whispered in my ear, which sent a shiver down my spine. He brushed my bangs, which had fallen into my eyes a little, out of my face and smiled at me. I swear I could look into his honey brown eyes all day, but it was getting late and I was beyond exhausted. We walked back to what was left of our group. I sat down on the couch and pulled my feet up beside me with Robert on my other side. I rested my head on his shoulder and could already see that Katie had fallen asleep in Chris’s lap._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is going to be pictures that I have used for inspiration... You are more than welcome to skip it, but they help me with my visuals and thought you might enjoy them. I will be doing this every so often to help with seeing clearly what I have written


	4. Visuals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> These are just pictures I've used so far in what you've read as inspiration. As I've said already you are more than welcome to ignore this chapter, but I know there are ppl like me that need visuals to understand what's been written so enjoy

_ **Elizabeth "Liz"** _

**Friday Night Outfit - black pants and bandeau with teal top**

**<https://www.pinterest.com/pin/43417583883495523/> **

**Friday Night Hair**

**<https://www.pinterest.com/pin/43417583883496261/> **

**Highlights**

**<https://www.pinterest.com/pin/43417583883496253/> **

**Friday Night Makeup**

**<https://www.pinterest.com/pin/43417583883496267/> **

 

_**Katherine** _ **"Katie"**

**Friday Night Outfit**

**<https://www.pinterest.com/pin/43417583883495517/> **

**Friday Night Shoes**

**<https://www.pinterest.com/pin/43417583883495522/> **

**Friday Night Hair**

**<https://www.pinterest.com/pin/43417583883495805/> **

 

** _Robert Downey Jr.'s Outfit_   
**

**<https://www.pinterest.com/pin/43417583883495524/> **

 

_**Chris Evan's Outfit** _

**<https://www.pinterest.com/pin/212865519863970624/> **

 

 

_**Bar in** _ _**NYC** _

**<https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QdTB0U0lCR0R1Z2M/view?usp=sharing> **

 

**<https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QRkdscmxPZURfQlU/view?usp=sharing> **

**<https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QUGs5MmZsb0t2d0E/view?usp=sharing> **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If someone knows how to actually show the pictures and not the links could you explain it to me cause everyway I try it tells me the picture is broken HELPPPP


	5. Old Friends & Tabloids

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Morning after... breakfast with an old friend, a call from a higher up... TABLOIDS are the devil

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again I must say that I don't own the actors

The next morning I woke up to my alarm blaring loudly, in my hotel room. How in the world did I get back here? That was when I realized there was a very solid, very warm body pressed against me. Well that put some new things in perspective. Last night came crashing back to me, I was at the club, I probably drank more than was truly necessary based on the headache I was now feeling. I vaguely remember leaving last night, I do remember the dancing and the most amazing make-out session I had with Robert and I remembered sitting on the couch. I must have fallen asleep, but where was Katie. God why am I up at this ungodly hour?

I got up to look in Katie’s room of the hotel and noticed she wasn’t there. I picked up my phone to call her when I saw that she had texted me sometime in the wee hours of the morning to say that she was at Chris’s hotel room and that she would see me later. Well at least I knew she was safe, but she better fill me in on why she didn’t come back to our room last night. I peeked back into my room to see Robert was still asleep. OH SHIT! What time is it? I have to go meet Avery in like 10 minutes. I grabbed the first thing I saw which happened to be a pair of black leggings, an oversized hunter green sweater and my black bootie style boots. I ran into the bathroom to brush my teeth and almost screamed. Holy shit I look like a fucking raccoon. I quickly washed last nights’ makeup off and put on my usual amount of makeup. I threw my still curled hair up in a pony-tail and walked out of the bathroom. Robert was still asleep so instead of waking him up I wrote him a short message.

__**Robert,  
I didn’t want to wake you up, but I will be downstairs in the breakfast lounge.  
Liz**

I made sure I had my phone and key card then ran to the elevator. Hopefully Avery hadn’t gotten there yet, but knowing my luck she would have been right on time. When I entered the lobby I saw Avery talking on her phone. I hadn’t seen her in what felt like forever; mind you it had only been a couple of months. Avery worked for the CIA she was one of their best agents and they knew that, which is why she was always gone on some sort of assignment. Her last job had her deep undercover that I didn’t have the clearance for. I didn’t honestly mind just as long as she came back safe. We’ve known each other since she was a kid pretty much; she’s like another member of my family. Avery was wearing a grey sweater, with plum purple leggings and grey flat boots; she had already taken off her coat and multi-colored scarf and had laid it on the back of a chair in the lobby, her long brown hair thrown up in a ponytail. Her chocolate brown eyes lit up when she saw me and hung up her phone. I walked across the lobby and gave her a hug. 

“No offense Liz, but you look like shit.”

“Awe Ave I missed you too.” We walked over to where the lounge was and waited for a table. There was barely anyone up this early on a Saturday morning so it didn’t take long to get a seat. 

Sitting down I noticed that every damn muscle was aching. Why oh why did I think dancing in heels was a good idea last night? Avery noticed my wince and asked what was up with me.

“Remember when you called me last night to confirm our plans?” She nodded. “Yeah well I was at a club and danced a good part of the night in heels, my body is not built to do that anymore.” We looked through our menu and ordered our breakfast when the waitress came to our table. 

“So what were you so excited about last night when you called, by the way I’m glad you’re back safely. I was really worried when you were gone for so long and that there was no way for communication.” I sat back with my hands in my lap.

“Thanks darlin’, the assignment wasn’t easy, but it opened a lot of doors for me, which leads me to my news, I got promoted! They moved me here to head up the CIA office they just opened up.” This was wonderful news. Avery was amazing at her job; she was a fighter, and just about willing to do anything for her job and to protect people. Our breakfast came and we made small talk, caught up on the little things, how everyone at home was doing. Then we got to last night.

“So what was with you when I called last night and don’t blame it on being hungry. I know your voice inflections to well, you were nervous about something or flustered.” She looked at me, daring me to lie to her again.

“Um… Well you see. Yesterday when Katie and I were in the city, I kind of, may have, sort of ran into Robert Downey Jr”, if she could see how large her eyes had just gotten she probably would have laughed as loud as I had just then. “Yeah so afterwards he invited me and Katie out to dinner, where we may have met Chris Evans, but when you called I had just walked out of the bathroom and Robert was right there and I didn’t want you to find out over the phone.” She was still looking at me with huge, disbelieving eyes. “After dinner we went to the club with them and met the rest of The Avengers’ cast, danced, had some drinks, made out with Robert.” I had mumbled the last part in almost a whisper and Avery almost spit her juice out on me.

“I need you to stop, rewind, and run that last part by me one more time.” She stated.

About the time I was about to repeat myself, I saw Katie walk in with what looked like a Captain America hoodie, her jeans from last night on and her heels and shirt from last night in her hands, didn’t she know that it was below 0 outside? Why are her shoes not on her feet? I had to do a double take, that’s how much I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I flagged her down before she could get to the elevators. Katie knew she had been caught, if the way she hung her head was any indication. 

“So young padawan, how was the rest of your night?” I asked as she took a seat between Avery and I. The waitress came back over before she had a chance to answer and asked Katie if she needed anything. She ordered a juice and looked at me.

“I am not about to have this conversation in a public lounge, besides I only came back to change, we are going to lunch.” She tried to look happy and smug with her comeback, but winced as her headache pounded through her skull. Avery just smiled and pulled out some ibuprofen from her purse and handed it to Katie. 

“Thanks, god this is awful. Did y'all really drink like this all the time? How did you stand getting up the next morning?” She looked at both me and Avery.

I shrugged, “we were younger and we had a lot of practice. I don’t know to be honest.” I said with a laugh, “as for getting up the next morning, we typically slept until mid-afternoon, went out got some food and did it all over again.” Ah what fond memories. I could see Avery was thinking back on past stories as well. I don’t know how either one of us ended up in the law enforcement field with half the things we did growing up, but we were here now, I guess that’s all that really matters. Avery opened her mouth to make a comment when she went stock still; she had a look of pure shock on her face. I guess Chris had finally made an appearance, at least that’s what I thought, until muscled arms wrapped around me and I felt a pair of lips caress my neck. I’m not usually big on someone sneaking up behind me, that usually got you killed, but I recognized those arms.

“I woke up and you weren’t in bed, you weren’t in the room at all. I saw your note and thought I’d come surprise you.” He whispered in my ear. I don’t think I could ever get tired of hearing his voice in my ear. I opened my eyes to Avery looking at me with wide eyes and mouth wide open. Katie was just grinning. “Hey Katie, when did you get in?” 

“About 10 minutes ago, I got sidelined from going to change when Liz saw me. I’ll be honest I’m glad I didn’t go upstairs if you were up there, no offense.” Robert grinned at her and then looked at Avery, who was still shocked at what was happening.

“Avery, this is Robert; Robert this is Avery”, I said. Robert extended his had to Avery and they shook hands, but only after I kicked her under the table to break her out her shocked state. 

Avery glared at me after she shook Robert’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Downey.”

“Please call me Robert, Mr. Downey is my father.” He said with a grin.

He still had his arms wrapped around me when Chris walked into the lobby, Katie lit up like a Christmas tree, she waved him over and stood up so he could take her seat, then to my utter surprise she sat right in his lap, in public. Trust me when I say this girl has never been into PDA, ever! There was something about Chris that brought out a different side of her.

“Hey guys. How is everyone’s morning?” He asked, wrapping his arms around Katie. I’m in an alternate reality; this is what I have decided. Based on the look Avery had on her face, as Robert took the last seat at the table, she felt the same way. The waitress came with Katie’s juice and asked the guys if they would like to order anything and both declined. Right when I was about to answer Chris’s question my phone rang, if looks could kill my phone would have caught on fire, until the ringtone registered. I jumped up to take the call.

“Callahan”, I said in a clipped tone, walking into the lobby.

“Would you care to explain to me why you and Ahlborn are on the front cover of some trash tabloid magazine”, my superior asked gruffly.

“I’m WHAT!?” I didn’t mean to yell quite so loud. I’m sure everyone in the lobby and lounge were staring at me, but at this point in time I really didn’t give a fuck.

“It’s blurry, a bit grainy, but it’s definitely the two of you in what looks like an upscale restaurant.” He replied.

Katie was by my side at this point, worry etched on her features, “what’s going on?” I held my finger up to let her know I would tell her when I got off the phone.

“Sir, I have no idea how it happened, but I apologize if it has caused any problems.”

“No, no problems, it looks like y'all are having a good time. I was just seeing if you had seen and give you a heads up if you hadn’t”, he gave me the name of the magazine before he hung up. I turned to look at Katie about 3 shades paler than she normally was. 

“Hey it’s ok, I promise. I will be right back.” I honestly didn’t know if everything was going to be ok, but I wasn’t going to freak her out until I saw the picture myself. “You stay here with Chris. I need to run upstairs to grab something.” Chris was standing behind her with his arms wrapped around her waist; Avery was still sitting at the table looking at me “I’ll be right back, don’t touch my juice.” I said across the lobby. Robert walked up to me and told me he was going with me wherever I was going. I really didn’t put up much of a fight; I might actually need his help seeing if it was really us. He walked beside me quietly; I don’t think he knew exactly how to gauge my mood right now. When we got in the elevator I told him about the phone call with my superior, “I’m not going to have a meltdown or anything; I would just like to see this before I show it to Katie. I think things with her and Chris could actually be the real deal, I don’t want something like this spooking her out of something that could be great for her.” Robert wrapped his arms around me.

“What about for us?” He asked seriously.

“I think you need to elaborate a little more on what you are asking.”

“If this picture is one from dinner, is it going to spook you off? Are you going to step away from a possibility?” 

“You’ve only known me for what? Roughly a day? I’m not saying that I wouldn’t jump at the opportunity to see where this could go, but we would both have to sit down and be open to how the other person lives, the crazy hours we both log in for our jobs. I would never ask you to quit acting, it wouldn’t just be devastating for you, but devastating for the world not to see the wonderful talent you possess, and I would hope that you wouldn’t ask me to quit mine. I love my job, I’m good at it, but it’s dangerous.” I looked at him, seriously expecting him to let me go and step back, but instead he only tightened his arms around me. We rode the elevator in silence the rest of the way up to my room. When we finally made it to my room, Robert spoke up.

“So it’s ok for Katie and Chris to only know each other for a day and have something real, but not for us?” I could tell his famous temper was rising, but this is what I was talking about. I whipped my head around at his tone to stare at him.

“I never said that, so you need to stop thinking it. I just want you to know that if we take this step, if we jump off that ledge and start something, you are going to have to accept that my job isn’t the safest thing. There will be more paparazzi issues, there is going to be someone that finds out the truth about you and Susan. I just really want you to be sure.” I looked at him for a second before resuming my search for my laptop. Jeez where the fuck did I put that damn thing. Robert came to stop me from looking around the room as he wrapped his arms around my waist.

“I made some calls after I woke up, before I came down to see you. There is something here and I want to see where it goes. I don’t care if we’ve only known each other for a day. I called my publicist. Susan and I have talked about going public for a while now. She wants to be able to walk down the street with her family, and I’m tired of being trashed for going out and supposedly cheating. I knew when I met you yesterday there was something about you that I couldn’t step away from. Will you please just give us a chance?” 

I think I might have stopped breathing. How could I not give him such a simple request? I would give him the moon if he asked for it. I don’t know how I would accomplish that one, but hey. I turned in his arms and looked up at him, he had to most sincere look on his face that I couldn’t help but melt a little more.

“Of course I’ll give us a chance, I would be a fucking idiot if I didn’t and I pride myself on not being an idiot. Now help me find my damn laptop. I want to see this picture.” I said, giving him a kiss and pushing him to move. The smile he gave me lit up his whole face. Was I really prepared for this? Was he? I guess we would find out soon enough. I turned and found my laptop on the table in between mine and Katie’s rooms. Alrighty let’s see this picture that made tabloid headlines.

I booted up my laptop as Robert took a seat across from me. As soon as the laptop was up and running I ran a search for the magazine, and low and behold there it was in all its blurry glory. This was definitely a picture taken from a cellphone. At first glance all you could see were four people at a table enjoying dinner, but if you looked a little closer you could definitely make out Robert and Chris. Well fuck me. I guess it was a good thing Robert had talked to his publicist, because this was definitely going to make rumors of cheating spread like wildfire. I turned the screen around to show Robert. I could see that he recognized us as well, double shit. I turned it back around so I could read what the article said.

_Avengers Affair?_  
Is Robert Downey Jr Cheating?  
Who is this blonde cuddled up to Chris Evans?

_Last night it seems was a night for The Avengers to be out on the town. We’ve already seen Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner and Tom Hiddleston having dinner together, but what is this picture all about? What we can definitely tell is that Robert Downey Jr and Chris Evans were accompanied by two women, neither of which is Robert’s wife Susan. So who is this woman next to Robert? Has Chris finally found himself a significant other? According to a source they were all later seen leaving the restaurant together. Where were they going? This doesn’t look good guys, one man leaving hand in hand with a woman that isn’t his wife and the other an eligible bachelor leaving with a stunning blonde. I think fans are going to be going crazy soon…_

I couldn’t read anymore, it’s already started. I saw Robert turn the computer around to read the article. I sent a text to Avery to come upstairs, just to have Katie show her the way up. Robert finishing reading the article about the time Avery, Katie and Chris walked in. They could see the dark look crossing Robert’s features and the worry on mine. I took a deep breath and just hoped Katie didn’t freak out.

“Alright everyone sit. The phone call earlier was from our superior.” I looked at Katie. “Apparently he saw a picture of us on the cover of some tabloid and wanted to know what was going on. We aren’t in any trouble, but he wanted to let us know what was going on. The picture was taken on a phone so you can’t make out either one of us, but you can definitely tell that it’s Robert and Chris.” Katie stood up and grabbed the computer to see the picture and read the article. “Katie from what I can tell there wasn’t anything concrete about us in it; you can’t even see us so there is nothing to worry about.” Katie frowned at me and then continued to read with Chris looking over her shoulder. Thank god for Avery, I needed someone here who wasn’t involved with this damn picture. 

“Hey look, forget about the picture for a minute, Liz I was going to ask if you and Katie wanted to go to dinner tonight, then head to my new place so I can show you around, plus I kind of need help painting.” Avery gave me a cheeky grin. Oh dear god, the last time I had seen Avery paint a room, her and my sister had gotten paint on the floor in the middle of the room. I am still to this day trying to figure out how it happened. Katie looked up from the article. I couldn’t tell if she was going to throw something, which she better not since the only thing she had in her hands was my laptop, or go throw up, which I also didn’t want to see, because just gross. Chris was rubbing soothing circles on her back, as if sensing she was silently freaking out. Robert was still sitting at the little table texting someone. 

“Chris I know you and Katie were supposed to go out tonight, but do you mind if she joins us?” I asked looking at him then Katie. Chris nodded and said that was fine he needed to go see some family in town that he hadn’t seen in a while and told Katie he would text her about lunch tomorrow. He left after giving a Katie a kiss on the cheek and telling everyone good-bye. Robert looked up from his phone and asked if we could talk. We walked into my room and shut the door.

“I was just talking to my publicist about the picture. We have a meeting at my house tonight to discuss where we want to go from here.” I looked at him with wide eyes, this was really happening. He walked up to me and kissed my forehead. I don’t know what it is about that, but I find it the most romantic thing ever. 

“So this is really happening? Are you sure you’re ready for everything?” I asked.

“I’m tired of living a life that isn’t real. I understand why it was necessary at the beginning, but Susan has a wonderful life she has to hide in the shadows and that isn’t fair to her. I’m honestly surprised it hasn’t come out yet. This will all work out, as for if I’m ready; if you’re ready to deal with the paparazzi and the tabloids, then I can handle your job. We can talk about it possibly over dinner tomorrow night?” He worded the last sentence in a question of sorts.

“I would love to have dinner with you tomorrow night.” I smiled at him and walked him out of the hotel. He kissed me and told me that he would text me and let me know what the publicist said. I turned to see Avery with a grin on her face. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I am beyond thankful and glad to have her here right now. Katie was still a little pale, but was starting to get her bearing back on reality. I knelt down in front of her so I could look her in the eyes.

“I need you to listen to me and listen carefully. Do you understand?” She nodded slowly, “I get that this is a big deal to you, I get that when we decided to go on vacation this isn’t what you expected to happen. I also understand this wouldn’t have happened if we hadn’t gone to dinner last night, with all that being said, I also know that Chris is falling for you and I don’t want some stupid picture or some ignorant article, in a tabloid of all things, freaking you out and making you run away. I’ve known you for a while and at the first signs of trouble in any relationship you run. You don’t see how you act with him, you don’t see how your face lights up like a kid on Christmas when he walks in a room, or the way you smile when he holds your hand, but I do and I have never seen you act this way. So I need you to take that into consideration before you do something stupid.” I stood up and gave her a hug. Avery gave me a thumb’s up behind Katie’s back to let me know I did the right thing. “Now get up and go take a shower we have dinner plans.” I told her laughing. She got up to go grab some things from her room and turned to look at me, “thanks Liz, I really needed that. I’ll be out in a few.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Probably going to add as many chapters as I can while I'm awake so enjoy dear readers... those of you that are reading and enjoying


	6. Girls Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls go out to dinner and paint Avery's house

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still no owning of the actors =(

I breathed out a sigh of relief, sometimes I had to be careful. Some people didn’t like me confronting them and I really didn’t want to piss Katie off and make things worse. This was supposed to be a vacation for heaven’s sake I shouldn’t have to deal with any type of confrontation. Oh well, I’ll deal, time to go out with two of my all-time favorite people, enjoy some dinner, and then do some painting. Katie returned a little while later wearing one of the outfits I had bought her for Christmas, which consisted of black skinny jeans, a light brown cardigan over a white long sleeve shirt and brown knee high flat boots. I had decided it was time to update her wardrobe, there was nothing wrong with jeans and cowboy boots, but sometimes you need some girly pieces for days like today. I was kind of surprised she had packed it. 

“Hey! Nice outfit”, I told her with a cheeky grin when she walked out of the bathroom.

“Oh, some crazy clothes Nazi gave it to me” she responded and Avery laughed.

I decided I would take a picture when she wasn’t looking and send it to Chris. I sent the picture with a text that said,

_**Look at this gorgeous girl I get to go to dinner with ;) –Liz** _

A little later I heard Katie’s phone go off. Katie turned to look at me after she read her text message, “did you send Chris a picture of me?”

“Um… maybe” I replied.

“Ok that would explain his creeper status text message”, she said laughing. Avery had walked over to join me in seeing what Chris had said. The text was short, but ridiculously sweet. I swear you could almost go into a sugar coma with how sweet those two were together. 

Avery looked at me, “Liz find me one. I need a guy like that in my life. Get to steppin’. I want one by the end of the night please and thank you.” I just looked at her and laughed, “I didn’t set these two up that was all Robert. I was just along for the ride.” 

“Well then tell him to get to it, he only has a few hours left of this day”, she stated very matter of fact-ly. “Yes ma’am. Is there anything else I can get you while I’m at it?” I asked her.

“Nope, just a man, you’ve already sold your services to painting the house with me. I’m good for now.” Katie laughed.

I looked over and pointed at her, “you’ve sold your services too. Go pack some clothes you don’t mind getting paint on.” 

I grabbed my carry-on bag to put some clothes in that I didn’t care about destroying while I helped paint Avery’s new place. I went to the gun safe in the hotel and grabbed my Glock 19. I didn’t feel safe without it and I was going to new neighborhood that I knew nothing about. Katie had already put her gun in her holster that was at the small of her back, the cardigan covered it perfectly. See not only cute but efficient as well. Once everything was packed, coats and scarves put on, hotel keys and phones were grabbed, we were out the door and headed to the elevators. We had decided it was a little too early to go to dinner so we would go wander around Times Square; the restaurant we wanted to go to was there anyways. We walked around Times Square for a solid 5 hours exploring every possible street, avenue and store, before our stomachs couldn’t take it anymore. 

We found the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde restaurant with very little trouble, not that we should have to be honest; we’ve walked past it roughly ten times already. We had decided on this restaurant completely for its looks. The restaurant was lit with old style chandeliers and huge leather bench seats and chairs, there were pictures of all the original ‘things that go bump in the night’, like Frankenstein and the Wolf Man. We had made reservations when we first got into Times Square and we’re seated   
right away. We had already looked the menu over before the waiter came over and decided to go ahead and order, he came back a little later with our drinks and we settled in for some good conversation. Avery and I looked at Katie waiting for her to spill the beans, but she was oblivious to the stares. I guess I was going to have to ask outright, jeez. 

“So Katie, want to share with the group how the rest of your night went and why you weren’t at the hotel when I woke up this morning?” I took a sip of my Kiss of Death; no seriously that’s the name of it. Avery had ordered a Zombie and Katie had ordered a Death by Poison, which had so many different liquors in it I don’t know how it would actually be good, but she seemed to like it. 

“I don’t know what you think happened, but it didn’t happen. I know that I had fallen asleep at the club while Chris was talking to Clark about some upcoming press junkets that they have together later on this week and then Chris woke me up to ask if I just wanted to go back to his hotel since it was connected to the bar. Robert told me he would take you back to our hotel so that I didn’t need to worry about you, when I got to the room I texted you because I know if I hadn’t I would have to the 5th degree. We went to sleep that’s all.” She said after she took a sip of her drink. Avery looked at me from across the table and shook her head. That is not all that happened; even I could tell she wasn’t telling the whole truth.

“By your tone and the way you keep shifting your eyes makes me think there is more to that story Katie.” Avery stated. I nodded my head to agree. “Not only am I your partner, but your best friend as well, keeping sexy times away from me goes against two different codes here chick.” I told her.

“I hate you guys. Why can’t I have friends that can’t read every little body movement like you two?” She said with a sigh. “Ok, ok you guys win”, she said throwing her hands up, almost hitting our waiter. She apologized profusely, but the waiter didn’t seem to mind at all. I don’t think I have ever seen her turn that shade of red before, it was quite amusing. Our food was delivered and our waiter left to grab us another round of drinks. We looked at her pointedly to make sure she knew we were still waiting for what really happened. 

“Dear lord you two are like a pack of dogs with a steak, you just won’t lie off until I tell you, will you?” We both shook our heads with big grins plastered to our faces. “Fine, we had sex, happy now?” She said with a big huff. I nodded very happy she had finally spilled the beans. “Was it as great as I’m thinking it was?” I asked and Avery looked over with curiosity.

She sighed with that dreamy look in her eyes, “it was amazing, you know me I couldn’t really care less about sex, it’s just way to much work for a little bit of satisfaction, but holy shit it was the best sex I have ever had in my life.” 

“That’s really not saying much there love, you’ve never really been a sexually active individual, but I’m glad it was amazing for you.” I replied with a smile. I really was happy for her, not just for the amazing sex, that’s great and all, but I was ecstatic she had finally found someone that would treat her like a princess, even if she wasn’t princess material at all. Dinner went on from there, great conversation, fantastic drinks and wonderful food. We left after paying and headed over to Avery’s so she could show us her new place and start painting. She actually lived in a really nice neighborhood and the brownstone she moved into was absolutely adorable, and made me think moving here wouldn’t be such a bad idea. I had just changed into a t-shirt and shorts when my phone buzzed.

_**Hey gorgeous, how was dinner? –RDJ** _

_**Great actually, how was the meeting with the publicist? –Liz** _

_**He just left, but it looks good. We are going to do an interview and explain everything tomorrow. I miss  
you. –RDJ** _

_**That’s good right? It’s going to be all anyone talks about for a while though, you know that right? You just saw me this morning lol, but I miss you too. :) –Liz** _

_**Of course you miss me, I’m awesome ;) –RDJ** _

_**How could I ever forget that? You’re the famous Robert Downey Jr he’s always missed :P –Liz** _

_**That’s right and don’t you ever forget it! –RDJ** _

_**I’ll text you in a bit, we just got to Avery’s brownstone and are about to start painting yayyy (note my sarcasm) –Liz** _

_**Alright, text me when you get back to the hotel safely –RDJ** _

_**You do realize I own a gun and am always safe right? –Liz** _

_**Not the same –RDJ** _

I decided to not even bother with a response to that, no point really; he would understand soon enough that I was a force to reckon with. I went downstairs from where I had changed to start taping of the walls and windows. Avery and Katie joined not long after and asked if I had heard from Robert any. 

“Yeah I was actually texting him before I came downstairs. They talked to the publicist and decided on an interview tomorrow to explain everything, after the picture that circulated everywhere today it’s going to be a media circus when the interview hits the air.” I shrugged, I had made my decision. I wanted to see where this ‘relationship’, if that’s what you could call it, would go. I mean really, if I can stand in front of bad guys with a gun pointed at my chest and not flinch, I could deal   
with idiots printing a bunch of bullshit. Katie looked at me to make sure I was ok.

“Are you sure you’re ready for this?” She asked me. I looked over from where I was setting up the paint, “yeah I figure if he can deal with me chasing down bad guys and carrying a gun, I can take the paparazzi and tabloids, shit maybe Avery over here can get me a job working for her at a desk.” I said with a laugh.

“I’d take you in a heart-beat, you know that”, Avery said from her corner of the room.

“I’m hurt Liz, you would leave me all alone in North Carolina, partner-less?” Katie had her hand over heart in false pain.

“I would hope you would come with me, but I would understand if you wanted to stay with the Marshals. I mean, I want to stay with the Marshals, I’m just thinking of putting in a transfer when we get home. I’ve been thinking about it since we got here to be honest. I just wasn’t going to bring it up with you until the end of our vacation.”   
Katie stopped painting her side of the room and looked over at me. “Do you really want to move to New York?” I turned around at the seriousness in her tone. “I’m really considering it. I think it’s time for a change of scenery and pace. You know I love North Carolina, but we’ve lived there for forever.” I said as I went back to painting. We finished painting the living room with no problem and went on to the kitchen with only the radio making any kind of noise in the brownstone. The next time we looked at the time it was almost 1 in the morning and decided to call it a night. Avery drove us back to our hotel and promised to text me when she got back to her place. I got comfortable in my bed and waited for Avery to text me that she had gotten back home alright, I guess in the mean time I should probably text Robert and let him know I was back and going to bed.

_**Hey sexy, we got back to the hotel in one piece and I didn’t even have to shoot anyone. I’m heading to  
bed text me when you decide on dinner plans. –Liz** _

I set my phone beside me and flipped through the channels on the television when my phone buzzed.

_**Ha you are so very funny. I’m glad you got back safely. I’ll let you know as soon as the interview is over. –RDJ** _

_**Alright, goodnight Robert, I’ll see you tomorrow –Liz** _

_**Goodnight beautiful –RDJ** _

I received Avery’s text right after that to let me know she was back home safely, finally sleep time.


	7. Interview Confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The anticipated interview and few other things

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No ownership of the actors or other things... just my characters

I woke up the next morning to Katie running around like a chicken with her head cut off. 

“You know we’re on vacation, right?” I asked still half asleep.

“Yeah I know, but I overslept and Chris is supposed to be here any minute and I can’t find my bag with my badge in it.” She said frantically. The bag in question was sitting on the table. I held it up and whistled to get her attention. “Is this what you’re looking for?” She grabbed the bag and found her badge throwing it in her purse. 

“Where are you going? I thought we would check out the zoo, see if Avery wanted to go.”

“Lunch with Chris remember? I had to reschedule after yesterday’s fiasco.”

“Oh yeah, that really happened didn’t it? I swear this vacation is beyond bizarre. Okay well I’ll just go over and help Avery with the rest of the house, have fun. Don’t make plans for Monday if you can help it. I want to go to the zoo and the World Trade Center.” I told her, she waved her hand in acknowledgement of what I had said and told me she would see me later tonight. Well then, I guess I’m up for the rest of the day. I called Avery and told her I would be over in about an hour to help her   
out with the rest of the painting. I stopped at Starbucks on the way and grabbed Avery and I something to wake us up. I don’t think I will ever get use to this cold weather, my bones ache from it. I arrived at the brownstone exactly an hour from when I called her. 

“Hey I brought you the elixir of life.” I said handing her a cup of coffee.

“God I could kiss you right now. Did you get any sleep you look worse than yesterday.”

“I actually got woken up by Katie running around the hotel room this morning freaking out about not being able to find her badge, she was running late.” I said after taking a sip of my coffee. Avery quirked an eyebrow at me in question, all I said was Chris, that was enough of an answer for her this morning. 

“So all we have left are the two bedrooms upstairs and the bathrooms.” She told me while getting up to throw her empty cup away. 

“Well let’s get this done with, then we can go grab a late lunch, maybe some shopping.” I said with a smile.

We finished up a few hours later; I told Avery to pick me up from my hotel after she got out of the shower and got ready. I went back to my hotel to get ready for lunch and shopping. I stopped by the lobby desk to see if I had missed any messages. The front clerk checked her desk and shook her head no. I decided I would text Robert before I jumped in the shower to see when the interview was today. His reply came shortly after saying it was in an hour, so I wished him luck and he told me he’d call me after. I took a shower, got dressed and returned to the lobby just in time for Avery to call me, letting me know she was in the parking lot. Lunch was a short affair, mostly due to the fact we were both starving and we were busy eating.

We roamed around New York, taking in all the sights and sounds, shopped a little bit for some new things for Avery’s place. After shopping, Avery dropped me off at the hotel. I had just opened the door when I heard a noise in the room. I know for a fact Katie wasn’t back, so I put my back against the open door and reached for my gun that was usually at the small of my back, only to realize I didn’t have it. How the fuck could I be so careless? I know exactly where my damn gun is. It’s still lying on my fucking side table, just because I’m on vacation doesn’t mean I need to be so god damn sloppy.

I eased my way into the room looking around for the source of the noise and grabbed the nearest sharpest item, which happened to be a letter opener. Oh yay this is going to do me so well, this is just freaking great. If there is someone in this room twice the size of me I’m done for, don’t get me wrong I’m great with hand to hand combat and was even trained to throw knives with extreme precision, but I was still a way better shot than any of those things, but any man bigger than me is still going to overpower my small frame. I rounded the corner, about to throw the letter opener, when I saw Robert standing in the middle of our sitting area.

“Are you fucking kidding me!? You know sneaking into someone’s hotel room is a fantastic way to get shot! You’re lucky I didn’t have my gun; I have the tendency to shoot first, ask questions later. How did you even get in here?” I had yelled the first part, but had finally lowered my voice to a normal octave by the end of my rant. I had also thrown the letter opener on the table beside me; if I didn’t put it down I was still going to throw it, most likely at his head.

Robert had his arms raised in an ‘I surrender’ motion, “I ran into Chris and Katie when I got here, Katie gave me her keycard. I wanted to surprise you.”

“Well you definitely surprised me, god if I had had my gun I would have shot you, give me a second.” 

“Then I am glad you didn’t have your gun because that would have sucked.” He said grinning at me.

After I got my beating heart under control I asked him how the interview went. 

“Better than I thought it would, since we were never technically married there’s nothing we have to do, document wise, and Susan was already basically living with her boyfriend, so my house is back to being just mine again. The interview will air tonight, so I was thinking we could just grab some takeout and go back to my hotel instead of going out tonight, because once it hits, it’s going to be a media fuck storm.” I nodded my head in consent and told him I needed to let Katie know where I was going to be. Once I had text Katie, I grabbed a couple of things, like my gun, and headed out hand in hand with Robert. I don’t think this will ever seem real to me, we got out to the parking garage with no problems, so far so good. Let’s hope our good luck lasts until we get to his hotel. Robert walked me to his car and opened the door for me; we headed to the nearest Chinese takeout place. The car ride to the hotel was relatively quiet, but comfortable. 

Thankfully our good luck did last until we got to Robert’s place; I am praising whatever gods made that possible. I have a feeling that after tonight life will never be the same again. God when did I get so dramatic? I am damn determined that I am going to keep my life as normal as any other Marshals’ life. Let the media talk, let the tabloids print what they want, they don’t know who I am and the people that do, know me well enough know that they can ask anything they want. I had a chance to start something wonderful in my life and I’ll be damned if I wasn’t going to take it. We made it to Robert’s room and got settled in to eat and watch television. The decision was made that I would watch the interview later when I got back to my hotel. I don’t actually know why he didn’t want to watch it with me, but he assured me everything was fine.

I knew I was supposed to be eating, but I couldn’t help watching the lights from the TV play over Robert’s features. How can a man be that gorgeous? It should be illegal, right? I just wanted to crawl into his lap and mark him all over. Woah take a breather there Liz, you can’t just jump the man out of the blue. My brain and body were definitely not agreeing with each other at this point in time and it was making thinking very difficult. 

“Are you going to keep staring or are you going to eat your dinner sometime tonight?” His deep voice jolted me out of my daydreaming. 

“I’m honestly not as hungry, for food, as I thought I was.” I replied slyly. I got an eyebrow quirk as the only response. Really? Even that was fucking hot. I need to get laid and sometime real soon. “I can’t help that I find you extremely attractive, jeez sue me.” I’ve never had a problem speaking my mind. Why start now? Dinner was soon forgotten, when I had a very real Robert pinning me to the couch. Holy crap I have never been so turned on in my life. It felt like his hands were everywhere all at once. His touch was setting every inch of my skin on fire. Our kisses started off small, sweet almost hesitant, soon enough though, the intensity climbed and it was like we couldn’t get enough of each other. It was like an all-consuming, aching hunger that only he could fill. The need for oxygen was eventually too much and we broke apart, for a while the only sounds in the room was heavy breathing and the television in the background. 

“Do you have any idea what you do to me?” He asked looking into my eyes.

“No, but I’m betting it’s nowhere near what you to do me.” He looked at me like I was crazy. “It’s getting late and I know that you have Katie’s keycard so I should really head back to the hotel soon.” I really didn’t want to leave, but I’m not looking to jump straight into bed with him just yet. He nodded and grabbed his keys off the counter. Thank god he didn’t take me not staying as a rejection. 

He dropped me off at my hotel front door with a kiss and a promise he would call me tomorrow sometime after his interviews. I noticed Katie as soon as I walked into the lobby; I didn’t know how long she had been waiting and I instantly felt bad.

“Hey why didn’t you call me to let me know you were waiting?” I asked on our way to the elevators.

“I actually walked in right before you, so no need to worry. How was your day?” She asked as we walked into the room.

“The day was good; I helped Avery finish the painting, grabbed some lunch and did some shopping for her new place. Then I almost threw a letter opener at Robert, went to his hotel for dinner, now I’m back here.” I said walking into the bathroom.

“Wait, you did what with what?” 

I stuck my head out, “Wow that was very articulate Katie, want to try asking me that again?” 

“Don’t be a bitch; you knew exactly what I was asking. Why did you almost throw a letter opener at Robert?” She asked.

“Well let’s see here, I got back to OUR hotel room expecting it to be empty, because I knew for a fact you wouldn’t be back anytime soon. Imagine my surprise when I start hearing noises in said room. I reached for my gun, which hey wasn’t where it was supposed to be, which pissed me off because even on vacation I shouldn’t have done something that stupid. I walked in and grabbed the closest thing that would cause some kind of damage. I didn’t know it was Robert until I walked around the corner. He then informed me you gave him your keycard, which by the way here’s that back.” I responded, handing her card back. “Thanks for the heads up by the way. You know how I am; I could have shot him today if I had had my gun on me like I was supposed to.”

“I’m sorry, he just said he wanted to surprise you, it didn’t even cross my mind that you might have your gun, honestly I’m really sorry.” She looked so sincere in her apology, that even if I were mad at her, it wouldn’t have lasted long.

“Its fine, I’m really not mad about it. It’s actually kind of funny now that I replay his facial expression. Do you want to watch Robert’s interview with me, I haven’t watched it yet.” She nodded and we went to the living area.

The interview wasn’t super long, but it was going to make the media go crazy. They told their story and gave their reasoning’s for why they did what they did. The interviewer asked questions about how they felt about finally having it out in the open and what their plans were, going into the future. Susan told him that they were going to keep living how they always did. They were never more than friends and that wasn’t going to change. Robert told the interviewer that he was happy that Susan could finally go out with her family and that he could finally take steps towards having a relationship as well. Of course, that led the interviewer into asking about the picture from yesterday. Robert’s whole face lit up as he went into detail about how happy I already made him and that he couldn’t wait to see where things went.

Holy crap! I couldn’t believe he had just said that on national television, don’t get me wrong I felt the same way; I just didn’t know he was going to publicly announce it just yet. Katie looked over at me to judge how I was taking things. Come on guys, I’m not some fragile girl who was going to break apart. I’m a Marshal for Christ’s sake. I’ve been shot at, I’ve had drug cartel dogs chase me all over kingdom come, shit I’ve had more broken bones than I care to share. I could handle the media, the fan girls scare me a little, but hey I was one of them growing up. I know how they think. My phone buzzed not long after we finished the interview, I glanced down to see that Avery had text me.

_**Please tell me you’ve seen the interview –Ave** _

_**Yes, I just finished watching it. Why? –Liz** _

_**If you don’t find me a man like him soon I’m disowning you lol –Ave** _

_**Psshhh you couldn’t disown me even if you wanted to. I know too much –Liz** _

_**This is true lol, but omg how cute was that? His whole face lit up when he talked about you –Ave** _

_**That man I swear is going to be the death of me; I feel so out of my depth when I’m with him. I mean I’m a small town girl who works in law enforcement, these things aren’t supposed to happen in real life. –Liz** _

_**Liz, you’re a great person who deserves great things to happen, take it a day at a time and see where it goes. He’s just a man. –Ave** _

_**You’re right thanks boo, are you busy tomorrow I think we are going to head out to the zoo maybe see the World Trade Center. –Liz** _

_**Yeah it’s the dreaded first day at the new office. I have no idea what I’m doing; I’m freaking the fuck out to be honest. –Ave** _

_**Hey you got this, you were meant for this job. I’ve know it since the beginning and obviously the CIA does as well. We can grab some dinner tomorrow to celebrate instead. –Liz** _

_**Sounds great :) I’ll text you when I get off. –Ave** _

Katie and I stayed up a little longer to plan out our next day, which included the Bronx Zoo and the Central Park Zoo, the World Trade Center and the Aquarium. I could hear my bed screaming my name so I told Katie goodnight and went to bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just realized I didn't write an end note on the last chapter so here have an end note... ummmm more to come???


	8. Big Decisions and all Before Coffee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Panic attacks ensue... some shopping happens too

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Places and actors are not mine... wish they were I'd be some kind of rich... just saying

The definition of a vacation to me is sleeping in and I’ll be damned if I didn’t sleep in at least one day, so that’s exactly what I did. When we woke up it was a little before lunch, so we got ready and headed out to fulfill our plans. The zoos were fun, some of the animals were inside due to it being too cold for them, but it was still a great trip, the aquarium was huge! I have never seen fish that big in my life, but my favorite part of the whole day was going to see the World Trade Center. The work they were doing there was beyond amazing and completely breath-taking. We walked around taking in every bit of the new structures and the memorial pools, after leaving the actual site we went to some of the preview site stores. I honestly could have spent my whole vacation there. I got a text from Avery during the day saying she was still up for dinner, just to give her a time and place to meet. We decided on The Smile, which I had seen in some brochure at the hotel, at around 7pm. Robert had text me to let me know that interviews are long and whine about being hungry, you would think the man was twelve and not a grown adult. All I could do was laugh at him and tell him to suck it the hell up. We went back to the hotel to drop everything we had bought that day off and get ready for dinner. The Smile was a cute little place, very rustic and warm, thank god for that. Avery was already there waiting for us at a table. 

“How was the first day?” I asked looking over the menu.

“Long and boring, sitting at a desk all day is going to take some getting used to.” She complained. 

Katie agreed. She was the same way. Whenever we had to do something involving a desk or standing around, the girl got antsy. 

“Really guys you act like it’s the end of the world to sit at a desk, no it’s not the most fun job in the world, but sometimes you have to do it.” I told them.   
The waitress came up and took our order and we sat around talking about our jobs, what was fun, what wasn’t, our food came shortly after that. We talked about the guys and what they were up to during the day. Apparently Chris had been in interviews all day too, so that would explain why Katie hadn’t been on her phone as much talking to him. After dinner we said goodnight to Avery and headed back to the hotel it was late and we had more tourist things to do tomorrow. 

The next couple of days consisted mostly of being a tourist and seeing as much of New York as possible and having dinner with Chris and Robert. Dinner was either at our hotel or at one of their hotels. The media had gone crazy after the interview, like we thought, so in order to keep our life as private as possible we never went out together.   
The end of our vacation was getting closer and closer and that was just sad. We missed work, but leaving New York would mean leaving Avery and everything we had experienced so far, which meant leaving fantasy vacation land and heading back to reality. Thursday night Avery came over to our hotel to hang out with us and the guys for dinner. Katie was sitting with Chris, in our only armchair, while Robert, Avery and I took over the couch. I had been flipping through the channels on the tv after we finished dinner when Robert decided he had some stuff he wanted to talk about and took the remote from me. 

“So Friday we are having a get together of sorts. Joss has rented out a local bar and wants to have a Marvel reunion to celebrate the announcement of Phase Three party. Everyone has been asking about you guys since last weekend and I figured this would be a good time for us to go public, at least to the rest of the cast. In case you were wondering this is me inviting all three of you.” 

Sometimes I forget that Avery had only been around Chris and Robert in our hotel, because her eyes just got as big as saucers at the idea of going out with a bunch of celebrities for the night. It took everything in me not to laugh at her just then. Obviously we all jumped at the chance to get out and have some fun before our vacation was over. The guys left not long after and Avery decided to just crash with us since she didn’t have to work in the morning. We made plans to go out in the morning to get breakfast together, then shopping for that night. Yay for more shopping, Katie just looked at me and Avery like we were crazy. 

Dear god what the fuck! I’m up for some reason and can’t quite figure out what woke me up. It’s half past 3 in the morning I should be dreaming about lollipops and unicorns, scratch that I should be dreaming about sex with Robert, so why the fuck am I awake. The culprit would be my phone going off because I forgot to put it back on silent when I went to bed. I rolled over to see who was texting me at this ungodly hour of the morning. I’m going to kill him! That’s all there is to it, why is Robert texting me so early? I clicked on the text message to see what was going on.

_**I know you’re probably sleeping and won’t get this until you wake up. I wanted you to know that I have never been so thankful and lucky to have someone like you literally bump into my life. There is something about being around you that calms something inside of me. I’ve never been big on destiny or things happening for a reason, but when I kiss you or when you smile at me it’s like a missing part of me has finally been filled. I know this is something I’m supposed to say in person, but I didn’t want to wait until I see you later tonight, sweet dreams. –RDJ** _

What the fuck? I’m seriously dreaming right now, at least I thought I was until I heard Avery get up to do something in the other room. I guess working in law enforcement really does fuck with your normal sleep schedule. I really hope it wasn’t my phone that woke her up; I’d feel bad about it. Oh well, I’ll ask her when we get up for the day. I wouldn’t even know how to respond to that text message if I were fully awake; I sure as hell don’t know how I’m going to respond to it half asleep. I didn’t get the chance to debate it because next thing I knew it was morning and my alarm was blaring in my ear. Shit! I must have fallen back asleep without texting Robert back. Now I’m in full panic mode, because really what do you text back to something that sweet and honest. I walked into the sitting area to Avery already dressed and waiting.

“Did my phone wake you up this morning?” I asked as I walked in.

“I don’t really know to be honest. I remember something waking me up and just decided to get something to drink before going back to sleep. Why?” She asked curiously.

“I forgot to put my phone back on silent when we all went to bed last night. Robert had text me at fucking almost 4 this morning, I heard you roaming around, just thought I’d ask if I woke up. If so I’m sorry.” I shrugged sheepishly. Katie took that time to appear, still half asleep. “Well good morning sunshine.” I said turning to her. All I got was the middle finger before the bathroom door shut behind her. “Well then, someone’s going to be a bucket full of laughs this morning” I said as I turned to look at Avery, she just laughed. 

“So what did Robert text you?” Avery asked. I handed her my phone to let her read what he had sent me earlier. “I don’t even know what to send back to that.” I said perplexed. “He's in love with you Liz.” She said so matter-of-factly that I think I gave myself whiplash to look at her. “No he’s not! There’s absolutely no way! We’ve only known each other a week. Who would want to love me, especially someone like him?” I might be having a slight panic attack. 

“Liz, Liz! Calm down! It’s going to be ok. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with you! He would be lucky to have someone like you in his life. Besides, how do you feel about him?” 

I hadn’t actually put that feeling under a microscope to dissect yet. To be honest I was scared of where my feelings were heading. I’ve never really had any successful relationships, whether it was dating complete jerk offs or commitment-phobes, they always seemed to go right down the drain. I don’t know how to date, much less date someone famous. I’m not some beautiful, rich, famous person; I’m just me you know, just a regular woman that works in a small town as a US Marshal. There’s nothing special about me. “I don’t know Avery. I just don’t fucking know. You know my relationships have bordered on unhealthy. I have no clue how to date someone like him. I don’t want to say out loud how I feel because then that makes them real.” I had sat down in the chair with my head in my hands by the end of my rant. Of course Katie had chosen that moment to finally emerge from the bathroom. 

“What’s going on?” Katie asked. Avery handed her my phone to read Robert’s text. “Liz you are going to get your ass out of that chair, stop feeling sorry for yourself and go take a shower. Then you are going to text this man back and tell him how you feel. Do you understand me?” Katie had her ‘you’re going to fucking listen to me’ voice out and wasn’t afraid to use it this morning. 

“And tell him what Katie? That I’m falling in love with him!? I have zero, count it with me now ZERO experience with dating someone the right way.” I yelled, chest rising with my panic. 

Avery had walked up to me to put her hand on my shoulder, “Liz, its ok to be falling in love with him. Sometimes it happens like that. It comes out of nowhere and hits you like a ton of bricks, that doesn’t mean it’s not real. He’s just a man.” 

“Besides me and Chris have already said it to each other”, Katie said as she walked into her room. 

“Wait! What!? You can’t just drop that bombshell like that and then walk out of the room.” I yelled at her. 

“Well I had planned on telling you today while we were out shopping, but I figured now’s a good time as any. You were going into a panic attack and I haven’t seen you go into one of those since we were in college.” She yelled back from her room.

“Well fuck.” I breathed out. “I’m getting in the shower. I’ll be out in a few.” 

Showers are the best place to figure out what the fuck was going on in your life. Let’s see here I came to New York for vacation, I somehow managed to meet Robert Downey Jr and a shit ton of other celebrities, and now find myself falling in love with a man I’ve known only a week. When did life get so complicated, oh wait that’s been my life since forever. I know Avery’s right and he’s only a man and Katie hasn’t had a problem knowing a man for only a week and telling him her feelings. So why was this such a huge deal for me? Ugh! I hate this. Fuck it! I’ll tell him, it’ll be like ripping a Band-Aid off, but I can do this. With determination I got out the shower, wrapped a towel around me and went out to grab my phone from Katie. She smiled when she saw me and handed my phone over. I opened the text and started typing.

_**Robert I’ve never really been great with words so I’ll say how I feel the best way I can. I don’t think my life really started until you showed up. I was told once that things happen for a reason and I honestly don’t care what the reason is, but I will be forever grateful that you are in my life now. I can’t even put into words how I feel when I’m with you. All I do know is that it’s the most amazing feeling and I don’t want it to stop any time soon. –Liz** _

There, I did it. Holy SHIT!!!! I think I’m going to hyperventilate. I put my phone on the counter before I did something stupid.

“I’m going to get dressed and then we can go get some breakfast. I can’t believe I’ve already had to make huge decisions before my first cup of coffee.” I grumbled as I walked out of the sitting room. I could hear Avery and Katie laughing at my outburst. 

Shopping is the most cathartic feeling in the world. No matter how shitty a day is or how stressed you are, spending money is the medication to fix it. I hadn’t heard back from Robert all day and it was probably stupid but I was starting to worry a little bit. Chris had text Katie to let her know that we should be ready by 9 pm and that there would be a car outside our hotel waiting for us. We had found out last night what bar we were going to and looked it up, after noticing it was themed after the 1920s we decided to go with that idea while shopping.

Avery had picked up the most gorgeous Louboutin Eiffel Tower heels and a black pencil dress that hit mid-thigh with a keyhole neckline. Katie went with pants again, but hey at least they were black and went with the color scheme, her top was a grey swing tank with black beaded deco that fit her perfectly and she finished it off with a pair of Dolce and Gabbana lace mesh ankle boots. As for me, I found a pair of stunning angel winged heels by Alexander Mcqueen. I decided to base my outfit around these beauties. I bought a dark champagne lace cropped top and paired it with a black high-waisted short scalloped skirt. Shopping was a success and all before lunch double success! We went back to the hotel to grab lunch at the lounge and relax a little bit before we had to head back out to get our hair and makeup done. We dropped our bags off at the room before we ate lunch so we decided to roam around the city for a little while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know how long the next one will be due to it being the party scene and a lovely scene after that so I guess we will see how it pans out


	9. Party Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marvel Party Time!!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> STILL don't own the actors or the places
> 
>  
> 
> Don't judge me...

After some time I wanted a nap, it is very essential in my life to have a nap. I bet my parents wished I loved naps when I was five as much as I love them now. I went straight to my room and to my bed while Avery and Katie stayed in the sitting room to watch TV. When I woke up around 5 they were both asleep on opposite ends of the couch, dorks. 

We headed out to the salon that did mine and Katie’s hair last weekend. Katie had her pixie cut styled and finished it up with a black and grey headband. Avery went simple and had her hair curled, with two braids connecting around the crown of her head. Me, I went a little different and little rocker to offset the flowy outfit I had bought. I told the hair stylist lets go crazy and what I got was an awesome Mohawk braid, it was definitely different and a lot of fun. Once we finished at the salon, we still had an hour before the car would be at the hotel. That gave us plenty of time to get back, get dressed and take a whole bunch of stupid and fun pictures before heading downstairs at 9.

“Alright guys its 8:50 lets go downstairs.” I said to Katie and Avery as they took one more picture together. We grabbed our coats and purses and headed to the elevators. “I fucking hate elevators.” I complained as we waited for it to arrive on our floor. 

“Well it’s better than having to walk down ten flights of stairs in heels.” Avery retorted. I looked at her and rolled my eyes. “Still doesn’t change the fact that I hate elevators.” Katie just nodded her head in agreement. 

Once downstairs, we headed out of the hotel to see that the car was already there. Thank god because even with a heavy coat it was cold as fuck and I really didn’t want to have to stand around and wait. The driver was outside of the car and opening the door for us in a matter of seconds.

I leaned over to Katie and whispered in her ear. “Remind me to thank Chris when we get to the bar.” All she did was laugh and shake her head. Hey this was a nice car and a nice driver; he was a savior in my eyes right now. I looked over at Avery who was really quiet, which was kind of strange for her. 

“Hey” I said to get her attention, “Are you ok?” 

“Yeah, yeah I’m just a bit nervous to be honest.” She replied.

“Weren’t you the one to tell me that they’re just people?” I said with a smile. “You never know you might meet your prince charming tonight.” She grinned at me, “I could only be so lucky.”

I leaned back in my seat, to try and relax before we got to the bar. My stress level was out the roof and I had no idea what to expect after my conversation with Robert this morning. Well kind of conversation since I have still not heard from him. I’m going to send myself into panic mode at any point in time. Fuck leaving yourself vulnerable sucks. The driver pulled up to what looked like an abandoned building and opened our door for us. Really, I have got to stop leaving my gun at the hotel. The driver told us to take the alley to get to the bar door. I get that this was part of the mystery to the bar, but holy shit this was sketchy as hell, and I was not the only one who thought so.

“Ok guys this would be cool during the day, but I know for a fact that neither of us brought our gun and if shit hits the fan were screwed.” Avery spoke up first. See I knew I wasn’t the only one thinking it. Katie nodded her head and set herself up as point with Avery in the middle. I took up the back to make sure no one would sneak up on us. We could hear the music down the alley which indicated we were getting closer to the actual bar it-self. Rounding the last corner of the sketchy alley we found the door. Chris was leaning against the side of the wall, guess he decided he would wait for Katie to arrive so she didn’t have to walk in by herself. Well wasn’t he just the sweetest thing ever. I looked at Avery and rolled my eyes, she knew what I was thinking. Katie walked up to Chris, who wrapped his arms around her and kissed her like he hadn’t seen her in months. 

“Come on! Where can I find a man like this?” Avery said in mock outrage, I just looked at her and shrugged. Katie and Chris laughed and we all walked in.

I love how the first thing I noticed was the massive bar at the other end of the room. Avery nudged my arm and pointed to it, at least I wasn’t the only one. I laughed and grabbed her hand; I think we both needed a drink. Chris and Katie had stopped to talk to Anthony Mackie, yes that’s right THE Anthony Mackie what the fuck! Yeup I needed a drink. Avery and I both decided on the Heart of Gold and watched as they made the drink, it was probably the coolest way I’ve ever seen a drink made. I was so fascinated with the show that I didn’t notice Robert had walked in. The bar isn’t very big. Its max capacity from what I could tell was only about 75 people. When you walk in it’s a straight shot to the bar with plush couches lining the wall, beside the bar was an open side room that they had turned into a make shift dance floor of sorts. Everywhere you looked there was celebrity after celebrity. It was a little disconcerting. I noticed some people I had already met and some that I knew of, but had obviously never met.

Scarlett was with her fiancée who I hadn’t met. Hemsworth was here with his wife Elsa and let me just say that woman is gorgeous. I looked over to see Katie talking to Clark and Jennifer Grey. I seriously can’t get over the fact that that’s his wife. Cobie was hand in hand with her husband talking to Joss Weadon, give me a second to fan girl, the man is a genius. Mark was sitting on one of the couches with Tom while they talked with Sebastian Stan and Idris Elba. Be still my beating heart I think I might die. Elizabeth Olsen was sitting on another couch talking to Aaron Taylor, his wife and Jeremy and his wife. I turned back around to take a sip of my drink that had just been placed in front of me. It was then I spotted Robert talking to Don Cheadle and holy shit was that Chadwick Boseman? They weren’t kidding when they said the whole Marvel cast would be there. 

Just then Avery’s ringtone started playing in the bar and all I could do was look at her and laugh, seriously what are the chances? Robert looked up when he heard me laugh and I could see his whole demeanor change. The smile he gave me made my knees weak. Okay I was in love; there was no point in lying to myself anymore. I was completely head over heels in love with this man and it was terrifying and exhilarating all at the same time. He excused himself from his conversation with Don and Chad and walked up beside me. 

I didn’t even get out a greeting before he wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me. Good god he could kiss when I finally came back to my sense everyone was cheering and cat calling. Well that was a little embarrassing; of course Robert looked like the cat that ate the canary with the smile he was wearing. He looked me right in the eyes and said, “I love you.” Wait, what? My brain needed to catch up. “Say that again I want to make sure I’m not actually dreaming right now.” I said in complete seriousness. He laughed, but told me he loved me again. I wrapped my arms around his neck and whispered in his ear that I loved him too. I don’t think this night could get any better. 

He turned and looked at Avery who was still standing beside us at the bar, “So I’ve been told by Liz that I was to find you a man, come with me I want to introduce you to someone.” Avery looked at me with huge eyes; I just shrugged. I didn’t know what he had in mind so I told them I would wait at the bar. Robert grabbed her elbow and led her across the room. I watched as Robert approached the couch where Mark and Tom were sitting and introduce Avery to Tom. I wish I had brought my camera because the face she gave me was beyond priceless. I will remember it forever. They would make a stunning couple to be completely honest. Tom stood up from the couch and took Avery’s hand and I kid you not kissed the top of it. Hello swoon! I knew Avery had only dated assholes who wouldn’t know chivalry if it smacked them on the ass and introduced themselves. Robert left her there to get acquainted with Tom, while he joined me back at the bar.

“Have I told you, that you look absolutely gorgeous tonight?” He asked me as he kissed my cheek.

“No actually you haven’t, you kind of just swooped in and kissed me silly.” I told him as I wrapped my arms around him.

“Ah, well you look stunning and I love you.” He looked down at me and all I could do was smile up at him. “I love you too Robert.” Hearing him say that was never going to get old. My life was pretty amazing at this point. Standing at the bar, you could literally see everything happening in the whole place, I was content to just people watch. Chris and Katie were sitting on one of the couches and anyone watching them could see them falling more in love, it would put a smile on anyone’s face, Avery and Tom were sitting on one of the long plush benches across from them. Yeah my life was great. Robert saw where I was looking, grabbed my hand and walked us over there to join them. Once over there Avery stood up, grabbed my hand and excused us to go to the bathroom, well ok then. 

“Want to tell me where the fire is?” I asked Avery when we made it to the bathroom.

“Holy shit I mean seriously holy shit! That is Tom fucking Hiddleston that Robert just introduced me to. This is real right? I’m not dreaming? I’m not going to wake up in my brownstone all depressed because this didn’t really happen, am I?” 

“Avery”, I turned her to look at me, “breath. This isn’t a dream.” The look that crossed her face was pure joy and I couldn’t help but laugh at her. Her relationships were just as shitty as mine, so I couldn’t really blame her for being so happy. “So, what’s he really like?” Come on, I had to ask.

“I don’t have anything to compare it to Liz. He’s a complete gentleman, he’s sweet and generous. He told me he was supposed to head back to London tomorrow, but is cancelling just so he can take me to dinner.” 

I had never seen Avery like this before. I mean yeah I’ve seen her happy but not like this. This was on a completely different level. When we rejoined our little group, Robert had taken up a seat next to Chris on the couch with Katie beside him, Tom was still sitting on the bench and they were all in deep conversation. Just when I was about to ask if anyone needed another drink, an old song that I hadn’t heard in ages came on and dammit I wanted to dance. I grabbed Avery who was about to sit down  
and yanked Katie out of her seat.

“We’re going to dance.” I told them as I drug them to the dance floor. I hadn’t had this much fun since mine and Avery’s crazy nights out years ago, but you know what that’s the point of a vacation, to have fun, be crazy and just flat out enjoy life. I guess seeing people finally on the dance floor brought others out. Ha! We were dancing with a bunch of celebrities, when was this vacation going to stop surprising me? Katie left me and Avery on the dance floor a couple of songs later to get another drink; it wasn’t long before we followed suit. When we got to the bar Katie had already ordered her drink and was waiting. I ordered a Cherry Licorice while Avery decided on a Fields of Heather. What is with the names of these drinks? Seriously, Fields of Heather what kind of name is that? Drinks in hand we headed back to the guys who were still sitting where we left them with a few new additions. Tom stood and offered his seat to Avery at the end of the couch and sat on the arm beside her, point one for this dude. Katie had already settled between Chris and Robert while sipping on her drink. I swear she was almost more at ease here than she was kicking in a door. I sat down on the other arm of the couch next to where Robert was sitting, when I got comfortable he wrapped on arm around my waist to make sure I didn’t fall. 

Our few new additions consisted of Sebastian, Chad and Anthony who sat on the bench in front of us talking about some of the interviews they had done over this past week. I looked over at Avery to see that Tom had picked up her hand, that wasn’t occupied with a drink, to hold. Gah! My friends made the cutest damn couples in the world. Chris had his arm around Katie’s shoulders to keep her as close to him as humanly possible from the looks of it, though I don’t think she actually minded. I hated that our vacation was ending in two days, I know, I know, this is happy night not let’s think depressing thoughts, but Katie looked so damn happy and I was sure the fuck over the moon and I didn’t want to leave. Robert jostled me out of my thoughts when he stood up and excused himself from the conversation. I watched him walk across the room to the gentleman that was running the music for the night. They talked for a couple of minutes before Robert turned around to rejoin us. 

“What was that about”, I asked when he sat back down.

“You’ll see in a few.” He replied with a wink.

Uh-oh, there was no telling what he had just done. The DJ announced that he was going to change the pace a little bit due to a special request. In the next moment I heard the opening chords to one of my favorite songs that I had told Robert about earlier this week. I looked up to see that he had already stood up and offered me his hand. I was completely speechless, what man requests one of your favorite songs just so he can dance with you? I took his hand and he led me to the dance floor. I placed one hand in his and the other on his chest and laid my head on his shoulder, point to my heels for making me tall enough to reach his shoulder. I can’t even begin to describe how I feel right now; all I wanted to do was pause life and never leave. How am I supposed to leave at the end of the weekend when I have something this perfect right here? It hit me in that moment that I would never love anyone as much as I loved Robert. In the span of a week he had somehow wiggled right into my heart and put down roots. 

The lyrics we’d remember tonight for the rest of our lives had never been more appropriate than they were right this second, dancing in Robert’s arms. I lifted my head and kissed him. I kissed him like I might never see him again; I know dramatic, but with the music playing and being the only couple on the floor it almost felt like everything was coming to an end and that scared the hell out of me. Robert spun me and then dipped me that matched perfectly with the end of the song. When I was back on both feet, I realized everyone in the room was clapping and yelling. Robert laughed in my ear and kissed my cheek, jeez that’s embarrassing; I’m not really a center of attention girl so of course I’m as red as a tomato now. We walked off the dance floor and headed to the bar to get a drink. I swear I’ve probably drank my weight in alcohol this week and a half, but again I say VACATION and it’s almost over so fuck it! After the dance, I decided to take a break and sat down next to Avery who was talking to Tom and Katie about her job. I watched as Robert pulled Chris aside to talk to him and wondered if they were talking about work. 

They came back a few minutes later and Robert helped me off the couch. “Want to get out of here?” He whispered in my ear. I smiled and nodded. I told Avery and Katie I was leaving and we made plans to meet up for breakfast around 11. I gave them both a hug and said goodnight. I looked at Chris and Tom, “You both better make sure they make it back to either one of your places or to our hotel safely or you will find yourself answering to me and trust me, it’s not pretty when I get angry.” I told them with a sweet smile and a wink. Robert entwined our hands and we walked out of the bar. 

“I get that this alley is supposed to make the experience of finding the bar much more exciting, but I don’t like it.” I told Robert gritting my teeth from the cold. He just laughed and pulled me closer. We hailed a cab and headed back to Robert’s hotel room. Once inside, I leaned against the door and watched Robert put his keys down and take off his coat. God I think I could watch him do just about anything and it would be hot as hell. He turned around and noticed I was still at the door.

“Are you thinking of running?” He asked with a smirk walking towards me.

“And if I was? Would you chase after me?” I crossed my arms, trying my best to look intimidating.

“I’d chase you anywhere Elizabeth.” He had stopped in front of me and placed both hands on the wall by my head. I looked up at him and he kissed me. I wrapped both my arms around his neck and deepened our kiss. He dropped his hands to my waist and picked me up. Oh god, oh god this is happening. I wrapped my legs around his waist as he carried me to the bed. Without breaking our kiss, he laid me down on the bed, resting on top of me. The need to breathe eventually won out and we separated. He looked down at me and caressed my cheek. I ran my hands up his sides under his shirt, yeah this needed to go. I took his shirt off and threw it across the room and pulled him back down for another kiss. I could feel him running his hand up my leg leaving a trail of fire through my veins. My skirt was the next article of clothing added to our little pile, followed by my top. I unbuckled Robert’s pants and started pushing them down, until we hit his shoes.

“Shoes, shoes those have to come off first.” He said. I couldn’t help but laugh as I watched him sit up and remove his shoes. He turned back around with hunger in his beautiful honey brown eyes and I choked on my laughter. He took off my heels and dropped them next to his shoes on the floor. He kissed up my legs, until he reached my neck and settled back down on top of me. Somewhere in the midst of kisses and soft caresses we lost the last of our clothes. The feeling of him inside of me was beyond words. You know those times when your mind goes completely blank and all you can do is feel? Yeah, this was definitely one of those moments. 

Every touch was like electricity running over my skin, every kiss was like lava coursing through my blood, if this is what people feel like on ecstasy I don’t blame them one bit for being addicted, because everything about Robert was addictive and I don’t think I could ever get enough of him. Being with him like this, so connected in every sense of the word, was a high I never wanted to come down from. I’ve never been a fan of sex, it’s not that it isn’t fun, it just can be a pain in the most literal of senses, but with Robert it was beautiful…amazing… great, I don’t think any of those words do it justice. When we finally came, it was together and I was high on the feeling of it. He collapsed beside me and pulled me in his arms, placing a kiss to my temple. 

“I am deeply and irrevocably in love with you, Elizabeth Jade Callahan.” He whispered in my ear when he finally got his breath back. I could feel the tears prickling behind my eyes and rolled over and kissed him. “I am deeply and irrevocably in love with you, Robert John Downey Jr.” I whispered back. We lay in bed talking about anything and everything that came to our minds, his son, my job. I think we were both afraid the other would disappear if we feel asleep, but eventually the sandman won and we were out cold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again I say don't judge me 
> 
> I mean if you want to who am I to stop you


	10. All Good Things Come To An End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ending of a wonderful vacation and the beginning of more...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't own anything but my own characters
> 
> Btw this isn't beta'd accept for what mistakes my friends have pointed out when they read it at the end of last year sooooo all mistakes are def mine.

I woke up the next morning freaking out, not because I wasn’t in my room, but because I thought I had overslept my alarm. I somehow managed to get out of the bed without waking Robert up to cross the room and check my phone. Oh thank god I still have an hour before my alarm was supposed to go off. Well I guess I’m up now thanks oh so much subconscious for fucking with me this morning. I looked back at the bed and couldn’t help but smile. I really don’t want to leave tomorrow. I shook my head to get rid of those thoughts, no need to make myself sad on my last full day here. I walked to the side of the bed Robert was sprawled out on and kissed his shoulder and then gently shook him to wake him up. I needed a shower and I didn’t have anything here. He rolled over and looked at me with a small smile.

“Good morning.” I whispered.

He grabbed my waist and pulled me back in bed, “Good morning love”, he said after he kissed me. I could get used to this every morning. We lay there, just holding each other, for a little while longer until I reminded him that I needed to get back to my hotel so I could take a shower before breakfast. After Robert took his shower and we both got dressed we headed back to my hotel. I was about to open the door to the room when Robert stopped me. I looked at him questioningly until he pulled me into his arms and kissed me.

“I just wanted a few more minutes with you to myself.” He whispered in my ear. All I could do was nod. I didn’t trust myself to talk right then. I knew that if I did my voice would crack from the tears I was keeping to myself. I turned around and unlocked the door. We walked in quietly, to make sure we didn’t disturb anyone, you know if anyone decided to come back here last night. I headed towards the bathroom when I walked smack into Tom in only pants. Really?!? What was with me walking into people? Why was he here anyways? Or better question why is he not wearing a shirt? 

“Umm… Why are you not wearing a shirt?” Ok not really the best first question, but come on there’s a half-naked man walking out of my hotel bathroom and it’s still early as fuck my brain hasn’t caught up with me. Robert walked around the corner with Avery who was wearing the missing shirt in question. “Please tell me y’all didn’t have sex in the bed I have to sleep in tonight.” I said before I could stop myself. I slapped my hand over my mouth, not quite sure how that’s going to help now. “Sorry I just woke up and I haven’t had food or coffee and I just couldn’t help it and now I’m rambling and I just want a shower.” Katie and Chris decided now would be the perfect time to walk out of Katie’s room and they both looked as confused as I felt. I pointed to the bathroom, “I’m just going to go take a shower now and possibly drown myself.” 

Avery walked into the bathroom behind me laughing. “Just so you know nothing happened. He’s too much of a gentleman, not that I mind one bit. We crashed here last night and I didn’t bring anything to wear so he gave me his shirt to sleep in. You know, in case, you were wondering, but while you take a shower I am going to run by my place to take a shower and change. Do you want it to be just us or are we ok with the guys joining?” 

“I’m honestly fine with either”, I replied as I started the water. “I wouldn’t mind if they were there. I know you won’t say it because you’ll think that I’ll think Tom is more important but that’s not the case. The more time we are around other people the less I’ll think about leaving tomorrow and I know Katie wants to spend as much time with Chris as possible, so when you go out tell the guys they are invited to breakfast. Now get out I love you and all, but I’m not in the mood to share my hot water.” I said as I opened the door and gestured for her to go. 

“Ok, ok I got it, I’m going. I’m going. I’ll see you in a bit.” She said and walked out.

It didn’t take long for me to take my shower. When I got out I realized in my haste to escape from the embarrassing word vomit, I didn’t have any clothes in the bathroom. Now I get to walk out, with nothing but a towel on and hope to god Chris went back to Katie’s room. I walked out of the bathroom to an empty room, but of course my luck isn’t that great and the hotel door opened and I froze like a deer in headlights. Thankfully it was only Robert, with a tray of coffee. 

“Oh my god if I wasn’t wearing just a towel right now I would bow down at your feet.” I told him when my brain came back online. 

“Hey I’m ok with this towel or no.” He said as he walked towards me. If the grin was anything to go by he had other things on his mind that did not involve my towel.   
I put a hand on his chest to stop him, not that I have a problem with those thoughts one bit, but I really did not want to be caught out in the open by Katie or worse Chris. “Haha of course you are, but seriously I was just thinking about how badly I wanted a cup of coffee. I’m going to go get dressed I’ll be out in just a second.” I said as I turned around and headed to the bedroom. When I finished getting dressed I walked out to see that Katie and Chris had joined Robert in the sitting room drinking coffee and watching tv. 

“Did Tom say if he was going to join us or not?” I asked when I walked out.

“He said he was when Avery asked before she left.” Katie said not looking away from the TV.

I walked around the corner to see what was so interesting on that had all three of their eyes glued to it. Apparently we were. They had the TV on some entertainment channel and I could hear the anchor woman talking about who was and wasn’t eligible bachelors and bachelorettes. There was a picture of Katie and Chris on the TV, Sorry ladies it looks like Mr. Evans is now off the market, though we don’t know who the lucky lady actually is it looks like this is one serious relationship. Chris and his lovely counterpart have been seen around town a couple of times over the past week and they seem quite enamored with one another. 

Ummm… Well then… Yeup I have nothing, even my internal thoughts have shut down. Katie wasn’t freaking out and she was still cuddled up to Chris so I guess she’s finally accepted that gossip was part of the relationship. Well good for her, I’m glad; she deserves some good in her life. The next thing I know there’s a picture of me and Robert from last night on the TV screen, jeez is that what I really look like? Eh, at least it was a super cute outfit. Alright ladies and some gentlemen the next man on our list was a bachelor for not even a day. We all saw his interview with ‘wife’ Susan and we were all very confused and then Mr. Robert Downey Jr took it a step further and surprised us with the fact that he has already met someone. We haven’t been able to really put a face to the mystery woman until now. Downey and his significant other are seen here at a party that Mr. Wheadon himself had last night. We still don’t have a name, but he sure looks happy. 

“Hey! That’s a cute picture do you think we could find whoever took that so I can get a copy?” I asked breaking the silence. I had already accepted the fact that my picture was going to be all over the place at one time or another. Katie looked at me and laughed. I grinned at her and shrugged, “What I really like it and I didn’t think to take any of us last night.” Robert walked over to me and kissed me. “So I guess we’ve been found out.” I said to him.

“Yeah I guess we have.” He said with a smile.

“Alright all my dears, I expended way too much energy last night and I’m starving so let us journey downstairs, please and thank you.” I said as I clapped my hands together. They all laughed, but they got their asses up and headed to the door. When I opened the door I noticed Avery standing there with her hand raised ready to knock, “Ha, perfect timing, put your hand down you look like an idiot.” I said as a grabbed her arm and spun her around. “Where’s Tom?”

“He’s downstairs getting us a table.” She replied walking arm and arm with me to the elevators.

“Well isn’t he the perfect gentleman?” I said.

“Yeah he’s pretty great” Was that a blush I saw cross her face? 

We all piled into the elevator and headed to breakfast. Yay breakfast! “So Avery,” I turned to look at her, “Ready for your date tonight?” Everyone was looking at her waiting for her reply. 

“Beyond ready” she said when the doors slid open. I guess that was all we were getting. Meh, whatever. 

We sat around talking about last night’s party and laughed about stories passed around. They ranged from me almost shooting Robert, to Katie’s one time during Marshal training, to filming shenanigans during The Avengers. I know I said hanging out would help keep my mind off of leaving tomorrow morning, but it was making it harder. I was happy here with these people enjoying breakfast. Why did Sunday even have to come? After breakfast, the guys left to go do what famous people do. I honestly have no clue, probably a meeting. Avery went upstairs with me and Katie so we could start packing. I walked into what had been my room for that past week and a half and just slide down the door to the floor. I pulled my knees up to my chest and put my head in my arms, I didn’t want to pack, I didn’t want to go back home, I didn’t want to leave one of my best friends here and I most definitely did not want to leave Robert. I heard a knock on the door, “Give me a minute.” I yelled to whoever was knocking. I got up and checked the mirror to make sure I didn’t have red eyes. Well fuck they were going to know I had been crying. I opened the door to Avery standing on the other side; she took one look at me and wrapped her arms around me. I couldn’t help it I just broke down. This shit fucking sucked.

“Hey, it’s going to be ok. Everything will work out I promise.” Avery said as she let me cry on her shoulder. 

“It’s not fair, god, listen to me, I sound like a fucking baby, but it’s just not fair. I don’t want to leave. I mean not only am I leaving behind this amazing experience and Robert, but you live here now. What am I supposed to do with you here?” I said barely above a whisper. 

“Just think of it as an extended assignment, that we can actually talk on.” She said when she stepped back to look at me. “You know I will come down and visit. Mom and dad will flip their lids if I don’t, you know that.” I couldn’t help but laugh at that. I know logically that moving is part of our jobs, but now that she was in a completely different state than I was it made seeing each other more difficult. I couldn’t just call her up to come over when I got home from work and that was just depressing. Okay I have got to get my shit together mentally and physically. I had way to much shit in this damn hotel. I started packing leaving out only what I needed tomorrow. I had my carry on set aside for essentials and last minute things. Avery had already headed to the sitting room to make sure we hadn’t left things strewn around the place. After double checking the room and bathroom, I sat down with the girls and ordered room service. I didn’t feel like going anywhere and neither did they. We watched crap tv, Avery stopped it on a repeat of the show from earlier this morning, and ate lunch. A few hours passed with us just hanging out and talking about when Avery would visit home. She left not long after that to get ready for her date with Tom, I gave her a hug and told her to have fun. She told me she would be back tomorrow morning to go with us to the train station and then left. I looked at Katie, “I guess it’s just you and me for the next few hours.”

“Yeah I guess so. I’m sad about leaving, but I’m ready to sleep in my own bed again and cuddle with Spade”, she said and I nodded my agreement. I missed my animals too, I have a white German Sheppard named Hank and a white and black cat named Sherlock, they are my babies and my sister Reagan was watching them while we are here. Oh god they might be dead… just kidding at least I hope. Reagan had text me the first day of vacation and said that they were doing great, but seemed confused and sad that their mommy wasn’t there. 

“Heard anything from Chris?” I asked Katie when I zoned back in. 

“Yeah, right before Avery left, he said that he would be over around 6 and would bring us dinner. Speaking of which, what would you actually like for dinner tonight?”

“A New York style pizza, we’ve been here this whole time and haven’t had one, it’s a sin.” I stated with my nose in the air. She just laughed and said she would let him know. When my phone started ringing I was surprised to hear Avery’s ringtone.

“Aren’t you supposed to be on a date in a few?” I asked when I picked up.

“Yeah, I am but I’m kind of freaking out and I don’t know what to do HELP!” She answered in panic.

“First off breathe. Second off you are going to be fine. You’re going to have a blast and we both know Tom is a complete gentleman and won’t do anything unseemly, so there’s nothing to worry about.” I told her.

“What if I do something stupid or say something stupid? What if I do something embarrassing?” 

“Really Avery, come on I know you, you could charm the pants off the President. You’ve got this.” This was routine. I was used to these phone calls; I honestly looked forward to them. I think these were the only times I was actually allowed to call Avery an idiot and not get ugly words thrown at me.

“Well wouldn’t that be a sight? No one wants to see the President with no pants on just FYI. Oh shit he’s here. Love you, see you tomorrow.” 

“Love you too, have fun, be safe.” I told her as we hung up. My phone buzzed again, but this time it was a text message.

_**Hello my beautiful woman, I am about to head your way. I heard there is pizza involved. I love you. –RDJ** _

_**Well hi! Yeah that’s what I heard was involved as well. I’ll see you soon and I love you too. –Liz** _

I got a text from Avery saying that she was sorry for her freak out and hanging up so quickly. I pretty much told her to shove it and that she knew I didn’t care, like I said routine. We heard a knock on the door and Katie got up to answer it. Chris walked in with two pizza boxes and I had never smelled anything that heavenly before. If there’s one thing anyone needs to know about me I love, I mean absolutely love, Italian food. Strange huh I’m of Irish decent and I want Italian food like there’s no tomorrow. Spaghetti, pizza, pasta you name it, if it’s Italian, I most likely want it. I got up to call down to room service for some drinks when there was another knock at the door.

“I swear I should have just gave ya’ll my room key when you both left today, would have made my life easier.” I said as I walked to the door. 

I opened the door to Robert’s smiling face. I couldn’t help but smile back at him. How was I supposed to go back to a normal day when he’s turned my life upside down? I moved out of the doorway so he could join us. Once inside he kissed me and headed to the sitting room and I went about my plan to call down for drinks. Dinner was great but my emotions had exhausted me so after I ate I told everyone I was going to head to bed. Robert got up and followed me out of the room.

“You know you don’t have to come with me.” I said when I turned around.

“I know I don’t have to, but I want to besides it’s been a long day and I just want to relax.” He replied and wrapped his arms around me. 

“I don’t want to leave tomorrow.” I confessed as I laid my head on his chest.

“I don’t want you to leave either.” He whispered in my ear. 

I put my phone on the side table, after I set my alarm, and crawled into bed next to Robert.

“’You know you’re in love when you can’t fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams’”, he said when I cuddled up to him.

“Did you just quote Dr. Seuss to me?” I asked looking up at him.

He just smiled and kissed me and in that moment nothing else mattered because we were together. Leaving didn’t matter; the time I knew that would last forever before I saw him again didn’t matter. We fell asleep wrapped up in each other and savoring the short time we had left. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Four a.m. came way too early. I wanted to throw my phone across the room, but knew it was pointless. I climbed out of bed to get ready for the long day of travel me and Katie had. I dressed in a comfy off the shoulder black sweater and ripped jeans with my favorite black booties and threw my hair in a ponytail. Robert was still asleep when I walked back into the bedroom and I really didn’t want to wake him up. I turned the lamp, on his side table, on and he startled awake.

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to wake you up like that, but its 4:30 and we have to head out soon.” I told him as I placed a kiss on his cheek.

“Its fine babe, I’m getting up give me a minute to get dressed and I’ll be ready.” He told me in a sleep-thick voice.

“You don’t have to go to the train station with us if you just want to go back to your hotel and get some more sleep.” I really wanted him to go with us, but the man looked dead on his feet and I’m pretty sure I would be crying some more and who really wants to see that.

The look he gave me indicated he was not putting up with my bullshit this morning. “I’m going to the train station. I want to spend every possible second with you before you board that train and I’m going to kiss you in public, damn the paparazzi.” All I could do was smile at him, life was never going to be boring with him and I loved the idea of it. We walked out of the room, my carry on in one hand and Robert’s hand holding my other. Katie was already sitting on the couch dressed in a Captain America sweatshirt and black jeans with combat boots; Chris was sitting next to her with his arm around her shoulder. The look on his face said that he was not happy about her leaving at all. I noticed that I wasn’t the only one sporting red rimmed eyes and sniffling a little, but I chose not to say anything because it wouldn’t help any of us. I grabbed my sunglasses off the counter and put them on my head. Avery had already text me and said she was downstairs waiting in her SUV. 

“Alright, I guess it’s time to check out.” I said. 

“Have you talked to Avery this morning?” Katie asked as she opened the door.

I nodded, “Yeah she’s already downstairs waiting for us.” The atmosphere was very somber as we rode the elevator down to the lobby to check out. When we got outside, Tom jumped out of the passenger side of Avery’s SUV and took our bags to put in the back. Well hello, wasn’t expecting that. This is it, we are finally heading to the train station and all I want to do is run the opposite direction. I hated goodbyes; I know they are more like ‘see you laters’ but who knew for how long. When we got to the station we still had an hour before our train was scheduled to leave so we ordered some breakfast. The guys waited for our food at the counter while Avery, Katie and I found a table.

“Sooooo, Avery how was your date, spill while we have the time.” I told her when we sat down.

“Amazing doesn’t even begin to cover it.” She said with a smile. I had never see her this happy or smile this much. “Liz he was the complete definition of a perfect gentleman. He opened all the doors for me, pulled my chair out for me. When he dropped me off at my house he said ‘For it is plain, as anyone can see. We are simply meant to be.’ He quoted The Nightmare before Christmas to me, Liz.” Everyone who knew Avery, knew that was her favorite movie and then for him to quote the most romantic line in the whole thing was the sweetest thing I had ever heard. “He told me he was postponing his trip to London and then kissed me. What is going on with my life?” All I could do was laugh. The guys approached not long after with our breakfast. I could see Tom holding Avery’s hand and I really could have jumped over the moon. Things were finally looking up for my two friends and that just made my day worthwhile. Breakfast killed a good portion of our wait time. We got up and headed to our departure gate. I turned and looked at Avery.

“I can’t do this, I can’t. I know I have to, but I can’t leave. I can’t make those steps to that damn platform.” I said with tears streaming down my face. Avery hugged me tight and I could tell she was trying not to cry either. 

“I will be there to visit before you know it, we will talk on the phone when we can and you know I can’t go a day without texting you. Best friends don’t say goodbye, they just take extended leaves of absence from each other. We got this.” Avery said and then went to hug Katie. 

I turned to Tom. “Look I know I don’t know you that well and you seem like a great guy, but if you hurt her I will come after you. She’s not only one of my best friends, but another part of my family.” 

“I wouldn’t dream of hurting her, she is definitely something special and I can tell you would do anything to protect her, but you don’t have to worry about me doing anything stupid. Besides between the three of you I know I wouldn’t last long.” He said. The man looked completely sincere when he talked about Avery that for once I didn’t question whether she was in good hands or not. I hugged Chris bye and then looked at Robert. God this was going to hurt and I didn’t want to do it.   
I walked over and wrapped my arms around him. “When I started this vacation, it was never my intentions to do anything, but relax. Somewhere along the way you happened. I have never fallen so fast or as hard for someone as I have for you Robert. I love you without trying; it comes as naturally as breathing and right now, leaving you, it’s the last thing I want to do. The thought of walking onto that train and not seeing you for god knows how long hurts.” I looked up at him trying my hardest not to just break down. He leaned down and kissed me.

“Elizabeth Jade the day we ran into each other was the best day of my life. I don’t believe in love at first sight, but thinking back on that morning, I think that’s exactly what happened. I don’t want to let you go right now and I don’t want to see you leave. I don’t think I could love you more than I do right this second and I will never love you any less than I do right this moment.” That’s it I was done for; I couldn’t hold it back anymore. I buried my face in his shirt and cried my eyes out. 

Before too long we heard the announcement over the intercom that our train was boarding. I looked over at Chris and Katie, who had tears falling down her face freely and I hated seeing her like that. We all said our final goodbyes, I saw Tom wrap his arms around Avery who was now crying like Katie and I. I kissed Robert one last time and walked onto our platform. I looked over my shoulder one last time and waved back to them all. Katie and I found our seats with very little problem, we had already put our sunglasses on to hide our red puffy eyes. We put our ear plugs in and settled in for the 9 hour ride back home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't have much to say here except there will be another visuals chapter coming up soon


	11. Home Sweet Home??

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally back home from what seems like a whirlwind vacation...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still can't own famous people it seems... what a shame

We arrived in Rocky Mount by mid-afternoon and my sister, Reagan, was there to pick us up. She walked up and gave us both a hug; Reagan was taller than me by a couple of inches and younger by about 4 years. Today she was wearing dark blue jeans with black lace up boots and a long sleeve black shirt. The great thing about North Carolina compared to New York was a long sleeve shirt or sweater was good enough for our January weather. Her long hair had been cut while I was on vacation into an angled bob and she dyed it again, she went black on top and electric blue on the bottom this time. It suited her so whatever. She and Katie shared a house I bought for Reagan after I started the Marshals. They actually lived right down the road from me which worked out great when Katie and I had to go out on assignment and needed someone to watch Sherlock and Hank last minute. It also helped that Reagan is a vet and a damn good one at that. She owned her own clinic in New Bern and enjoyed what she did. Katie and I grabbed our bags and headed to Reagan’s Mini Cooper. 

“So who’s going to explain to me how I not only saw both of you on the cover of a magazine, but also on tv?” Reagan asked when we got in the car. 

“God, are we really doing this now? I want to die! I want to sleep for an eternity. Trains are not conducive to good sleep.” I complained as I reclined in the front seat and threw my feet on the dash. Katie just groaned her agreeance. 

“Uh yeah I drove my ass up here to get you, I watched both of your animals and I even waited until you got back instead of calling like I wanted to do.” Reagan stated.

Ok I’ll give her that she could have called and annoyed the fuck out of me about it, but she hadn’t. I told her how we met Robert and went to dinner with him and Chris, how we all went to a bar/club after and met more of The Avengers cast. I told her about Avery moving up to New York and all the adventures we had painting her new place. Reagan laughed; I knew she was remembering the painting disaster from years ago too. Katie told her about how she and Chris became an item and The Avengers Phase Three party and how romantic it was that Robert asked me to dance. We filled her in on everything we could possibly remember about our vacation and all the touristy things that we did. By the time we were finished Reagan was speechless. Let me just tell you that child is never speechless, like ever! 

“Holy shit peace and quiet.” I said with a laugh, it was good to laugh after the morning I’d had. Reagan looked at me with a scowl and flicked me the bird; Katie started laughing in the back seat. She was used to our bickering after being around us for so many years. I leaned back and text Avery and Robert to let them know we had made it the North Carolina safely and were headed home. 

“Mom wants us to stop by before I take y'all home. She wants to do dinner tonight.” Reagan said after a while. I guess it was too quiet for her.

“She does realize that all I want to do is go to sleep. I still have to go back to work tomorrow, rested or not.” I replied.

“When has that woman ever cared?” She asked. God I knew she was right and I would never hear the end of it if I didn’t see her. 

“Fine, but I’m not staying forever. All I want to do is cuddle with my animals and sleep until I have to get up tomorrow.” I said begrudgingly. 

Katie nodded, I knew she was as tired as I was and we were both still an emotional mess. It took about an hour and a half to get from Rocky Mount to New Bern and it was enough time for me to call my mom and tell her we were going by our houses first to drop our stuff off and then we would meet her for dinner. We stopped at Reagan and Katie’s house first. They lived in a two-story grey house with a huge wrap around porch. Both our places were in the historic district of New Bern right on the river front, it was absolutely beautiful and I loved it. 

Reagan and I waited for Katie outside on the porch swing. I could hear Spade barking in excitement at Katie being home, so I knew it was going to take her a little longer to come back out than normal. God I couldn’t wait to see my animals. A few minutes later Katie came out and we headed to my house. I lived about a block away in a two-story white house that had a screened in wrap around porch. I unlocked the door and could hear Hank running around the house to get to the front door. 

Soon I was tackled by my huge white German Shepherd and given tons of slobbery kisses. Sherlock was sitting on the stairs blinking at me in that strange cat fashion I took as being happy to see me. I walked past him as I went up the stairs to put my luggage down in my bedroom. I would go through it when I got back and do laundry. As much as I was sad to leave, I really did miss being home. I walked back down to join Reagan and Katie so we could head across the river to see meet my mother and most likely my grandmother at our favorite restaurant. When we walked into Fridays, our mom was already there and I called it, so was my grandmother. I felt my phone buzz and looked down.

_**I miss you already. I feel like part of my soul is missing and I love you. –RDJ** _

_**Don’t make me cry more :( I miss you tons and love you so much. –Liz** _

“Liz you ok?” Katie whispered when we sat down. I just showed her my phone screen. She gave me a hug and told me she understood. I hated that she understood, it meant she felt as shitty as I did, but we were adults and we had to do the grown up thing. It still didn’t suck any less. Mom asked how our vacation was, but thankfully didn’t ask about any of the tabloid stuff with my grandmother there. I knew she knew and would probably call me later and ask about it. While we waited for our orders to come out we talked about how Reagan’s last week and half went with having to deal with the clinic and our animals. She said everything went great, but that she was glad we were back. My phone went off again.

_**I didn’t mean to make you sad baby I just wanted to let you know how much you mean to me. –RDJ** _

_**I know I just hate that you aren’t here to hold me and be here when I wake up in the morning. –Liz** _

_**It won’t last long. I will be seeing you soon. I have some time before The Avengers 2 premier and I’m going to spend it with you. –RDJ** _

I would have jumped for joy if I wasn’t sitting in the middle of a restaurant, but alas I was. I turned my phone so Katie could read it. She looked up and grinned at me. When dinner was over, Reagan dropped me off at home and she and Katie headed down the road to their place. Home sweet home, I let Hank out the backdoor into my fenced in backyard so he could run some of his energy off. I went upstairs to start a load of laundry and to pick out whatever I was going to wear to work tomorrow. 

Once I let Hank back in I practically crawled back upstairs, god I was exhausted and it was only 7 pm, what the fuck? I checked my phone to see if I had missed anything while downstairs. I had a missed text from both Avery and Robert. Avery’s just said that she was glad I got home safely and that she had another date with Tom later in the week so to expect a phone call. I laughed, I loved our pep talks and it would be good to hear her voice. Robert’s said to have a good night and sweet dreams and that he loved me. I text them both back and crawled into my bed. Oh my god how I missed my bed, Hank was already at the end of the bed and Sherlock was curled up on the pillow next to my head. I turned off my lamp and was asleep in seconds.

I woke up at 6:30 am with my alarm going off. I hate mornings. I went downstairs and let Hank out. I started a pot of coffee and fed Sherlock and put food in Hank’s bowl. I waited for the coffee to finish brewing and made myself my first cup of the morning and headed back upstairs to go about the rest of my routine. Drink my coffee, shower, brush teeth, do makeup, go back downstairs, let Hank in, get dressed, make to-go coffee mug and then out the door to pick Katie up. I had checked my phone on the way out the door and saw I had a missed text. I’m glad that Robert texts most the time, not that I wouldn’t want to hear his voice, but I don’t feel as guilty missing a text than a phone call. 

_**Good morning beautiful. I wish I was there to kiss you awake, but I love you and hope you have a great first day back –RDJ** _

I couldn’t help but smile when I read his message. God I loved this man with every fiber of my being and couldn’t wait to be with him again. I sent back that I loved and missed him and I hoped that he had a wonderful day. Katie was outside when I pulled into the drive. 

“Good morning, ready to go back to our real lives?” I asked when she got in the car. 

“Not really but no point in putting off the inevitable.” She said as she took a sip of her coffee.

We arrived at the office by 7:45 and walked in. I loved our job; it was like we hadn’t been gone for the past week and a half. When we got to our desks, which were faced in front of one another, there was that damn tabloid magazine lying on it. Yeup they were going to pick on us for a while. Rixton, one of our buddies, walked up behind me, “So dating famous people now? Why are you here? I wouldn’t have left that comfy lifestyle.” 

“Aw but Rixton we missed you so much. We just couldn’t stay away from you.” I said turning around to look at him, while Katie took a seat laughing. Yeah this is my job and I wouldn’t change a thing about it. It was nice to be one of the guys again; I needed something to take my mind off of missing Robert. Rixton just grinned and headed back to his desk across the room. Our superior called me into his office not long after. 

“Yes sir.” I said as I leaned against the door frame. 

“Glad to see you and Ahlborn back and in one piece. I know that you both have paperwork piled up to your eyeballs, but I need y’all in on this drugs bust later this afternoon.” I nodded and told him I had no problem with that. I relayed the information to Katie when I got back to our desks. 

The day went from there. It was uneventful to say the least; even the drugs bust was lame. I’m not saying I want flying bullets and jumping for our lives, but the guy was just a kid. I just don’t understand the youth of today. At the end of the day I told Katie to grab Reagan, when she got off, and head to my place. I had decided I would cook dinner tonight and I really didn’t want to be home alone. I had just finished putting dinner in the oven when I heard a knock on the door. What in god’s name was up now? I opened the door to see a delivery man standing there with a bouquet of the most beautiful white calla lilies and blue orchids I had ever seen in my life. He asked if I was Liz Callahan, I nodded my head yes, I don’t think my voice box was working; he told me to sign for them and left. What the fuck? I saw a note attached and pulled it out on the way to the kitchen to place the flowers on the island. 

**My Dearest Liz,**  
I hated that I couldn’t be there in person to kiss you good morning and to tell you that I love you more than life. So I thought I would send some of your favorite flowers to brighten up your first day back to work. I can’t wait to be with you again and to hold you in my arms.  
All my love,  
Robert 

I’m pretty sure my eyes are tired of my crying bull shit. Katie and Reagan walked in while I was finishing up dinner. 

“Holy shit who sent the flowers?” Reagan asked when she walked into the kitchen. I gave her a duh look and she just shrugged. “Sorry I keep forgetting you’re dating someone and not only that, but apparently someone who doesn’t mind being romantic.” Katie just laughed and sat down at the bar. It’s usually where we ate dinner when they came over. No point in sitting in the dining room when it was just the three of us and the bar was big enough to eat at comfortably. 

“I never did ask if you had heard from Chris any.” I said to Katie when I joined them. 

“He called me last night after we got home from dinner. God I miss him. We texted a little today, but you know work and all.” She said as she took a sip from her wine glass. 

“Well aren’t y'all a pair tonight.” Reagan said as she looked between the both of us. I shrugged and finished eating my dinner. 

“So Reagan”, I turned to her, “When were you going to tell me you and whatever his name, broke up, I had to find out from mom.” I said. Katie put her fork down and looked at Reagan, “I live with you and you didn’t tell me!?” 

“There wasn’t anything to tell, he was a dick, I work too much, he didn’t know how to give in a relationship and it didn’t work out whatever.” She said nonchalantly. I knew she hated breakups, but the guy really was a dick, notice that I still can’t remember his name, yeah low life. We finished dinner and the girls headed home. I let Hank out and headed to my office that was located off my dining room, to do some work. God I hated paperwork, I text Avery to kill some of the boredom.

_**Save me from paperwork boredom –Liz** _

_**Ha I’m right there with you –Ave** _

_**How’s everything with Tom? –Liz** _

_**AMAZING! ;) How are you and Robert doing with the separation? –Ave** _

I sent her a picture of the flowers I had gotten today and couldn’t help but smile at how sweet he was to me.

_**Holy shit those are gorgeous! –Ave** _

_**Yeah Reagan had the same response, but it was followed with who sent them lol –Liz** _

_**Sounds about right lol –Ave** _

_**Ugh, well I guess I should stop procrastinating and finish this shit. I’m never going on vacation again if this is what I have to come back to. –Liz** _

_**Yeah right paperwork is the reason vacations were invented –Ave** _

_**Yeah I guess, blah I’ll talk to you later –Liz** _

_**Alrighty –Ave** _

Too bad paperwork doesn’t do itself. I gave up after looking at for an hour and went to call Hank back in the house. Screw this I’m going to bed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next couple of months went by in the blink of an eye. I went about my daily routines and talked or text Robert as much as both our jobs would allow, but I was really missing him. Chris had already been down to visit Katie, sometime in March. They came by one night and I made dinner, he told us how everything was going with the rest of the press releases. The first week of April gave us some of the most beautiful spring weather, it was heaven on earth.

I came home from work one Friday night to see a package leaning against my door. I was use to this; Robert liked to send random things to surprise me. I grabbed the package and unlocked the door, what I didn’t like was that Hank wasn’t at the door to greet me. That wasn’t normal and it put me on edge. I put the package down on the floor quietly and removed my gun from its holster and then put my back against the wall. I walked as quietly as possible down into the living room and straight into my kitchen. I could barely make out a figure leaning down on one leg petting Hank. God I needed to start leaving on lamps in this fucking place. 

“Freeze or I’ll shoot, now I’m going to need you to put your hands down, stand up slowly and turn around.” I stated in a stern voice. The person stood up and I could tell it was a man. 

“Is that really how you greet your boyfriend after not seeing him for a couple of months?” I heard Robert’s deep voice rumble in amusement. 

“I swear to all that is fucking holy Robert. I’m going to shoot you one of these days just to prove a god damn point.” I yelled as put my gun down and turned the lights on. “What the fuck is with you and trying to get shot? I mean is that what you’re aiming for?” I was so frustrated at that point I didn’t even think about the fact that he was here and standing not five feet from me. Hank had already padded over to me and was rubbing his nose against my hand. I walked to the door and let him out in case I decided I would shoot Robert out of spite. “How did you even get in here?” I asked him.

“Katie”, that was the only response I needed. I might kill her, she’s lucky I don’t want to have to train a new partner. Robert walked over to me and wrapped his arms around me and kissed me deeply. 

“Are you really here?” I asked seriously. I didn’t need this to be a dream. I had missed him so much and if I woke up right now I would probably be the most miserable person in the world. 

“I’m really here. Did you grab the package off the front porch?” He asked.

“Yeah it’s on the floor by the door. I was kind of preoccupied to actually open it just so you know.” I said with sarcasm. He just grinned at me and went to grab the package. I let Hank back in and fed both him and Sherlock. Robert walked back in the kitchen with the package and told me to open it. I rolled my eyes, but took the package and opened it. What was inside was the most beautiful lime green dress with black lace over lay that I had ever seen. It had sleeves that would hit around my elbows and was about mid-thigh in length. Under the dress was an envelope. I looked up at Robert who wore a soft smile. I opened the envelope that was addressed to Robert, to see an invitation for him and one guest to attend The Avengers 2 premier in Los Angeles on the 17th. 

“This is in two weeks you know that right?” I asked Robert in complete shock.

“I know, but I wanted to ask you in person and I couldn’t get down here any sooner. I’m sorry.” He said.

“What are you sorry for? You’re here and I can finally kiss you and hug you and now you’ve just invited me to one of the biggest movie premiers in the world.” I said laughing.

He leaned down and kissed the laugh right out of me. I wrapped my arms around his neck to deepen our kiss. He walked us back until I could feel the cold granite of the island pressing into my back. He lifted me up and placed me on the counter and it felt like his hands were everywhere all at once. I couldn’t believe he was finally here. I bit his lip and was rewarded with a deep moan that rumbled up his chest and into our mouths. God he was intoxicating. I could feel his fingers entwine in my hair at the base of my skull as he bit down on the sensitive spot on my neck that made chills form all over my skin; I moved my neck to allow him better access. 

Somewhere along the way we had both lost our shirts and I scratched my nails across his back, eliciting a small groan and hard bite, from him, in return. I had my legs wrapped around his middle and toed my shoes off behind him. We really didn’t need another mishap with fucking shoes. Robert pulled away and looked down at me, his pupils blown wide with lust. I’m pretty sure mine weren’t far off. I watched as he kicked off his shoes and stepped out of his pants that I had already unbuttoned. I pulled him back to me, plunging my hands in his hair and devouring his lips. I felt like I was going to crawl out of my skin from all the sensations I was feeling.

Robert helped me out of the rest of my clothes and when he entered me I bit down on his shoulder to keep my shout from echoing through house. I could feel the sweat trickling down my back as the heat built up around us. Every touch, every kiss and every moan brought us closer to the edge and when we finally fell over the abyss of pleasure, I swear I saw stars. After coming down from our high, I exclaimed that we needed a shower before we got in my bed because there was no way in hell either one of us was getting under my nice sheets sweaty and sticky. Nope it just wasn’t happening. It was a short lived shower because we were both exhausted and just wanted to go to bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> probably posting a visuals chapter next so feel welcome to skip it


	12. Visuals Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> These are the pictures I used for the Avery meeting, Marvel Phase 3 Party, and Leaving Day... I think that's all that I have done visual wise since the last chapter like this

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own these pictures they were just what I used to help in visualizing ideas and places

_**Elizabeth "Liz"** _

**Saturday - Avery Meeting (also the same thing wore to Girls Night dinner)**

_[Clothes](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/43417583883508805/) _ **AND** _[Shoes](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/43417583883508792/) _ **\- sweater is green and shoes are black**

**Party Time**

_[Outfit](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QeWVZRXdkeXVtTkU/view?usp=sharing) [Shoes](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QRzJIUFVONmVTN2s/view?usp=sharing) [Hair](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QWnZXWVpVbjNubEE/view?usp=sharing)_

**Travel Days**

_[Outfit](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QaFAwVDdHd05rVG8/view?usp=sharing) _

 

 

_ **Katherine "Katie"** _

**Saturday - Girls Night dinner**

_[Outfit & Shoes](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6Qb2VDVi1uTkJUWWc/view?usp=sharing) _

**Party Time**

_[Complete Outfit](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QZzJNS082MnhwX2s/view?usp=sharing) _

**Travel Days**

_[Shirt](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QSlduMUxXVlh0QXM/view?usp=sharing) _

 

 

** _Avery "Ave"_   
**

**Saturday - Meeting and dinner**

_[Outfit & Shoes](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6Qai10bUpSVlVFUkU/view?usp=sharing) _

**Party Time**

_[Dress](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QZ1lmWUZiSnV2Mkk/view?usp=sharing) [Shoes](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QdXJ4czBvblZYMTA/view?usp=sharing) [Hair](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QNGl3SW9vMldvWHc/view?usp=sharing)_

 

**_Reagan_ **

**Pick-Up**

_[Hair](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QQjl2ZWM1WWEzUkU/view?usp=sharing) [Outfit](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QamVtLXZoZW53dk0/view?usp=sharing) [Boots](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6Qa0UtY3pMdl9hZW8/view?usp=sharing)_

 

 

_**Places** _ **Used**

**Girls Night - Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde ** **Restaurant**

_[Option 1](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QMUZHSjZBeUFuaVE/view?usp=sharing) [Option 2](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QRGhUalVBMmRlX00/view?usp=sharing) [Option 3](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QUEE0WENSWmtjZzg/view?usp=sharing)_

 

**Avery's Brownstone**

_[Bedroom](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QMEtvaUtaN0d6NlU/view?usp=sharing) [Bathroom](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QSGRaS1VONzBSeE0/view?usp=sharing) [Living Room](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QX2tfNDJCRXRZRzg/view?usp=sharing)_

 

**Marvel Phase 3 Party - Apotheke Bar in NYC**

_[Option 1](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QS0FVRjNqbEtYdFk/view?usp=sharing) [Option 2](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QNlRjTGcyZTNZZEE/view?usp=sharing) [Option 3](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QS1lJc3FzWGg3NGM/view?usp=sharing)_

 

**Lunch Meeting - SMILE in NYC**

_[Option 1](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QWmNiUGhtODRMMWM/view?usp=sharing) [Option 2](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6Qb3VPa09zOXJpd2s/view?usp=sharing) [Option 3](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QUXpacUR1S2N5Ylk/view?usp=sharing)_

 

**Liz's House**

_[Outside View](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QQ2w4U29lX0EzNDg/view?usp=sharing)  [Foyer & Stairs](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QVWtuQUg1LVdGWFU/view?usp=sharing)  [Living Room](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QVG1WZkZnaFV6eW8/view?usp=sharing)  [Kitchen](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QcVVFcHBjT3FNQlk/view?usp=sharing)  [Bedroom](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QNWg2QUtpdG9rRDQ/view?usp=sharing)  [Bathroom](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QV1Y3N1FCU0NIS2s/view?usp=sharing)  [Dining Room](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QZlBHRmRNQ3ZWZzA/view?usp=sharing)  [Office](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QYnJYRE9YWnJReGM/view?usp=sharing)[  
](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QVWtuQUg1LVdGWFU/view?usp=sharing)_

 

**Katie and Reagan's House**

_[Outside View](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QdzRYTVpDdjZqcVU/view?usp=sharing)  [Kitchen 1](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QV2kwX1NBZlVDT1U/view?usp=sharing)  [Kitchen 2](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QMHhYcnlNcGdhZkU/view?usp=sharing)_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be up soon


	13. Unexpected Plans with Expected Visitors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyday life with a few unexpected plans thrown in and some visits from people we know and love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will eventually own famous people... ok maybe not but hey whatever

The next morning was a Saturday, which meant no work! Best feeling ever! I rolled over to see an empty spot in my bed. Please gods tell me that wasn’t a fucking dream! I started walking down the stairs and could smell the scent of pancakes and it was beyond heavenly. When I walked into the kitchen Robert was in front of the stove in just pajama bottoms. 

I wrapped my arms around his waist and kissed the back of his neck, “You know cooking without a shirt is dangerous.” He laughed, “What can I say I like living a dangerous life.” I rolled my eyes and went to the fridge to get a cup of juice, “Want a glass?” I asked holding up the carton. He picked up his coffee cup indicating he already had something to drink. “You could have just said no thank you.” I told him sticking my tongue out as I poured my glass. “Where’s my dog?” I asked concerned. Robert looked over his shoulder at me, “I let him out when I came down to make breakfast.” Thank god. That damn dog would run out the door given half the chance. I opened the door and called Hank back in. He and Sherlock already had food in their bowls so Robert must have already fed them; I swear he was already spoiling me. 

“Breakfast’s ready.” Robert exclaimed as he set the pancakes on the counter beside the eggs and bacon he had already made. I sat down beside Robert with my cup of juice. Hey don’t hate on the juice. Weekdays are for coffee, weekends are for juice. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. This was definitely the best morning I have had in a long time. About halfway through breakfast, Reagan and Katie walked in the kitchen. 

“Don’t you people knock?” I asked when I saw them. They were both dressed in running gear. “Shit guys, I forgot about running this morning, sorry.” Reagan shrugged while she stole a piece of bacon from my plate. “Child you’re lucky mom would yell at me if I stabbed you right now, because the urge is rising” Robert laughed beside me. “Yeah laugh it up. It’s all funny until someone steals your bacon.” I said seriously. Katie was looking at the box with my dress in it or more specifically the invitation on top. “So he finally got around to asking you?” She asked. I glanced up to see what she was talking about, “Yeah, have to figure out something about taking off again.” 

“We still have about half a week of vacation left. Chris invited me when he was down in March.” She said absentmindedly.

“Really” I threw my hands up, “And you didn’t tell me until right now?” I asked in exasperation. 

“Well I was told to not say anything. Tom invited Avery on their second date.”

“That’s against some best friend code. I can’t believe neither one of you told me, I’m texting Avery when I get upstairs.” I said in mock anger. Robert made move to get up and clean, but I stopped him. “You cooked, I’ll clean.” I said as I gave him a kiss. “Thank you, by the way, for breakfast.” Reagan sat down in my seat when I got up to clean.

“So Robert, can I call you Robert, I’m going to call you Robert. What are your intentions with my sister?” Reagan asked in fast succession. I turned around to look at her with huge eyes. “Reagan! I know for a fact you weren’t raised in a barn. Robert feel free to ignore her, I do.”

“Hey that’s just rude!” Reagan said with mock hurt, turning to Robert, “No, but seriously what are your intentions with my sister, because if you hurt her I know how to neuter a dog. I’m sure I can figure how to neuter a man with absolutely no problems.” Katie started laughing.

“Dear god Reagan reign yourself in, I’m running upstairs to change, try to behave while I’m gone.” I said to everyone and went upstairs to call Avery and get dressed. I grabbed my phone from the side table and clicked on her number.

“So do you want to explain to me why I just found out from Katie and not you that Tom invited you to The Avengers 2 premier? I’m pretty damn sure that that violates some kind of best friend code of sorts.” I said as soon as I heard someone pick up. Instead of hearing Avery’s country drawl, I was surprised with a thick English accent.

“Good morning to you too Liz” Tom said laughing. I was so shocked I had to pull my phone away from my ear to make sure that I had dialed the right number.

“Tom?” I asked incredulously. 

“Last time I checked that was my name. How are you this lovely morning?” Tom asked.

“Umm… if there are naked people then I think I need to hang up the phone now.” I’m sorry it was the first thing that came to mind. I could hear Avery over the phone asking Tom who was it.

“Liz?” I heard Avery’s voice finally come over the line.

“Yeah I just need to stop talking to Tom from now on. I tend to say the first thing that comes to mind and it’s always the worst shit.” I said in almost a whine.

“I’m sorry I was in the shower, is everything ok?” She asked with concern.

“Oh yeah, yeah except that when I see you I might possibly beat you.” I told her absently while I grabbed some clothes.

“Wait why exactly, am I in trouble all of a sudden.” 

“Let’s see here, first of all, when did Tom start staying the nights with you and secondly movie premier ring any bells?” I asked. God was everyone keeping me in the dark about everything. 

“I was going to call you after he left and tell you about last night just FYI and the movie premier I was sworn to secrecy about. I’m so sorry I wanted to tell you but Robert made me and Katie swear not to say anything.” Gahhh that man! 

“Ok I’m not really mad, but come on guys best friend code I know we have one.” I told her. 

“So I’m assuming he’s finally there.” She said. 

“Yes he almost got his ass shot last night. Katie gave him her key to my place and didn’t tell me, so imagine my surprise when Hank didn’t come to the door last night and there is a person in the middle of my dark kitchen, scared the forever living hell out of me.” I could hear Avery trying her hardest not to laugh at my rant. “Don’t laugh at me. I told him I was going to shoot him on principle next time, but he did make me breakfast this morning and Reagan threatened to neuter him.” Avery did laugh this time. 

“Oh my god, please tell me she didn’t” She said trying to reign in her laughter. 

“Oh but she did. I have never seen someone’s eyes get that big that fast. I love her but she’s insane. So are you going to tell me how he was?” I couldn’t help it. He answered the damn phone so obviously something happened last night to explain why he was at her house that early in the morning.

“Um… call you later?” She asked. Apparently he was still there. Well fuck. “Yeah but don’t forget.” I said seriously. We said our goodbyes and I finished getting dressed. When I got downstairs I heard Reagan asking Robert how long he was planning to stay. I leaned against the kitchen door frame to listen.

“I planned on staying until Liz and Katie left the Wednesday before the movie premier”, he turned around to look at me, “that is if you’ll let me stay that long with you.” 

“Nope I’m planning on kicking you out tonight”, I said walking up to him to wrap my arms around his neck. He was still sitting at the bar so it we were the same height. “Of course you can stay with me. Why would you think I would let you out of my sights anytime soon?” His answer was a huge grin and a kiss. I heard someone clear their throat and realized Katie and Reagan were still in the kitchen with us. I gestured upstairs and told him to go get dressed we would all go out to the water   
front with Hank and Spade. After Robert walked upstairs, I turned to Katie. “Don’t think just because I haven’t said anything doesn’t mean I’m not going to beat you up for breaking the best friend code. Oh and not warning me of Robert being in my house he almost got shot for real last night!” 

“I’m sorry he told us not to say anything. He wanted to surprise you.” She said with worry in her voice. 

“I’m not mad calm down. I just need a heads up next time. What if I had shot him? That would have put a damper on our relationship.” Katie laughed and Reagan snorted. “Alright y’all go grab Spade and meet us back here.”

Not long after they left Robert came back downstairs and we got Hank in his collar and leash and went out to the porch to wait for Reagan, Katie and Spade. Spade is a massive German Sheppard. When I went to pick up Hank from a breeder who specialized in white German Shepherds, Katie went with me. Spade was the runt of his litter of beautiful full-blooded German Shepherds and Katie fell in love with him, so we both left with puppies that day. We thought over training them for our jobs for a long time and decided that we wouldn’t put them through the trials of being Marshal Dogs. 

When the rest of our group arrived, Robert put on his hat, for a little protection from the crazies, and we headed to Union Point Park. I loved this place. It’s just one of the super peaceful, small hometowns. After walking for a couple of hours and showing Robert around, we headed back to the houses, thankfully no one recognized him so we didn’t get mauled by any rabid fans. Later that night Avery called me to tell me about the night before and why Tom answered her phone, which I honestly have no problem with, but I think if he sees my name on the screen he should probably avoid it at all costs. Though I’m sure he and Avery had a huge laugh at my expense. Apparently they had gotten really close… Yeah that close, not to say that Tom isn’t a wonderful guy and an amazing gentleman, but according to Avery he’s fantastic in bed. I’m just glad they finally slept together, god that took forever, just saying 4 months is too long.

The next few days went pretty much like that with the exception of me going to work when Monday came around. Monday night, while lying in bed, Robert asked about possibly throwing a dinner party and inviting the Marvel cast, though to be honest something seemed a little off. He had told me earlier that they all missed me and Katie and wanted to see us before the movie premier. Ummm, What?! How am I supposed to throw a party for a bunch of celebrities? Robert said he would help me out, but I told him I was calling Avery in as my back up. I sent a quick text telling her to call me when she had the chance. Thankfully she called me a few hours later.

“I need you to visit and when I say that I need you on a plane tomorrow.” I told her as soon as she picked up. 

“Wait hold on, you want me to get on a plane tomorrow and come visit?” She asked for clarification. 

“Yes! Robert asked me to throw a dinner party for the whole Marvel cast and I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing and Katie already has plans. Apparently Chris will be down on Wednesday and will be here until we all head out.” Yes I’m panicking, can you tell I’m panicking, because I am, completely and totally freaking out. 

“Let me see what I can do, god Liz last minute much.”

“Look this isn’t my fault for once, just take some vacation time and stay here. You can head to LA with us next week.” I told her in complete seriousness. I needed her help and I needed it, like, yesterday. 

“I’ll call you tomorrow after I look at my calendar, and Liz?” She asked.

“Yeah?” Anyone could hear the fear in my voice. 

“Chill, it’ll be ok; we will figure this out and throw an awesome dinner party.” Avery told me with complete confidence. 

“Yeah tell me that again when you get here and we have to get this shit together by Friday.” I told her.

“I promise everything will be great. I talk to you tomorrow, now go get some sleep.” 

“Fine I’m going, I’ll be expecting your call just so you know.” I said before we said our goodbyes and hung up.

I looked over at Robert who was trying his best not to laugh at my mini meltdown. 

“Look here you, the next time you want to spring something on me like this, I’m kicking you out of my bed and you can go sleep on the couch.” I told him. “Don’t even think about giving me puppy dog eyes, Hank tries that and as a dog, if he can’t pull it off, love neither can you.”

“I love you.” He said, really that’s not fair. That’s like a secret weapon that will work every single time.

“I love you too, now sleep I have to try and plan and clean this house and work. I need sleep.” I told him as I cuddled up.

The next day, Avery called me around lunch and told me she was taking a red eye and would be in around midnight. I would have to kiss her feet when I picked her up; I have never been so relieved. Robert said he would take care of inviting everyone while Avery and I planned the evening. Work was mostly a court appearance and then busy work at my desk, which gave me plenty of time to work up food ideas and ask Katie about Chris.

“I don’t know, maybe I’m being paranoid, but he’s being kind of weird.” She said while she finished up a report.

“What do you mean acting weird?” I looked up from my grocery list.

“I can’t explain it, just quiet, kind of distant, like I said maybe I’m being paranoid.” She said.

“I’m sure everything is fine. At least you can just spend time with him, I have to go pick Avery up from the airport at midnight and then somehow finish getting this dinner party ready.” I told her and I could feel my panic rising again so I took a breath and just looked at her, “Don’t you laugh at me.” I pointed a finger at her daring her to try.

“I’m sorry but you look like a ghost which is saying something since you’re already pale as fuck.” She said giggling.

“Shut up” I said with a grumble.

We finished up our work and headed to our respective homes. Robert was cooking and dear god it smelled like heaven. I really didn’t want to think about what would happen when he went back home or went on location to film. I loved waking up to him and coming home to him at night. I walked into the house and was greeted by a very enthusiastic Hank, who followed me into the kitchen. 

“I don’t know what you are cooking, but if you don’t feed it to me soon I will start begging.” I told him as I went around the island to give him a kiss. He laughed and assured me it would be done in the next few minutes. “Hey I have to pick Avery up at the airport around midnight, just thought I would give you a heads up so I didn’t freak you out when I got back home.”

“I’ll go with you.” He said as I poured a glass of wine. 

“You don’t have to. It’s your vacation you should relax as much as possible.” He took the bottle and poured a glass for himself.

“This is me relaxing. I want to spend all my time with you, even if it is just running to the airport with you.” He took a sip of his wine and smiled at me. I’m going to melt right here on the spot. I’m still not convinced this isn’t one amazing dream and I’m going to wake up at any point. The rest of the night was spent eating dinner and then lying around in the living room watching junk TV until it was time to leave for the airport. When we got to there, Avery was already waiting outside and I have never been so happy and thankful to see someone. Robert got out and helped her with her luggage as she climbed in the backseat behind me.

“I am so glad you’re here.” I told her once she was settled.

“I am beyond excited to be back. I have to go see mom and dad tomorrow, but then after that you have me for anything you need me for.” She told me.  
“I am completely ok with that plan. Let’s get home I still have work in the morning.”

We got home roughly around 1 am. I got Avery settled in one of the guest rooms and climbed into bed next to Robert. I now have three days to plan the rest of this damn party and I haven’t even started. I’m going to need a fucking miracle to make this happen. 

Wednesday morning, Katie and I drove separately to work since she had to leave early to pick Chris up. They had invited Robert, Avery, and I over and since Reagan lived there, her as well, for dinner. Work was slow. When I say slow, I mean beyond humanly possible slow. Katie and I were talking about Friday night and how excited we were to see everyone again. It wasn’t long before she left me to go pick up her other half while I finished up some report I was avoiding like the plague. Really, why do reports have to be crazy boring, at least I only had an hour left.

After work I headed home to go over some ideas with Avery and get ready for dinner at Reagan and Katie’s. Robert was out for a run and had taken Hank with him, so it was just the two of us and my poor cat Sherlock that Avery had taken hostage, in the living room going over ideas. 

“So, how’s Tom?” I asked with a grin.

“Are we talking in general or are we talking sex?” She countered. I shrugged, “either works for me.”

“In general he’s great, we are doing great, everything’s great.” She replied with a goofy smile.

“Is that the only word in your vocabulary today?”

“No it isn’t thank you very much, but really everything is amazing. He went back to London for a little while to see his family. It sucked saying goodbye, but he came back a few weeks later so it wasn’t too horrible. Our relationship is going splendidly; I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy in my life. We just work you know? I have work and he has his crazy filming schedule, but there’s just something there that balances perfectly. This is the first time I’ve ever been really comfortable and I’m not worried that something bad is going to happen down the road. We take it one day at a time and it’s fantastic. As for the sex, holy shit. I mean words wouldn’t do it justice, so I’m not going to try.” She said with a laugh.

I just nodded; I understood not being able to explain things. The good thing about being friends for so long is that you kind of just understand without words. Robert came in a little while later covered in a sheen of sweat and Hank was panting and just plopped on the floor by my feet. 

“I going to go out on a limb and say you were being chased by crazy fan girls.” I said smiling up at him. 

“Ha, no I just have to stay in shape for the next job and running helps clear my mind.” He said taking a swig out of his water bottle.

“Did you have to kill my dog in the process?” I looked down at poor Hank, with his tongue hanging out and eyes closed.

“I had to run faster than normal to keep up with your dog, so don’t go saying ‘poor Hank’.” I laughed at the incredulous look that passed over his features. 

“Yeah I probably should have warned you about that. We had to stop taking him and Spade when we go running in the mornings because of that.” I just shrugged and went back to planning. He pointed to the papers, “How’s that coming along?”

“Well, we have a few things to finish up and then we just have to set it all up on Friday. I have that day off so I’m going to spend all day doing that.” I told him. “Now go take a shower, stinky, we have dinner plans over at Reagan’s later.” 

“I don’t stink, this is the smell of man and it’s awesome.” He threw over his shoulder as he walked to the stairs. Avery just wrinkled her nose and I laughed.   
After Robert finished taking a shower and getting ready we headed over for dinner. Reagan, Katie and Chris were all in the kitchen talking about Chris’s flight when we walked in. 

“I brought wine!” I said holding it up and Katie got out glasses. You can never say no to a good bottle of wine. 

Reagan was putting the final touches on some kind of chicken dish she was making and Chris was whispering to Robert about something. What was up with those two? Avery and Katie were sitting at the bar catching up and I went in to help Reagan with whatever she had left. I loved life right now. This is how you live, with friends and family, having dinner and just spending time together. Once dinner was ready we all sat down to enjoy the great food and company.

“Reagan, have you found out if you will be able to make it Friday night?” I asked towards the end of dinner.

“As long as an emergency surgery doesn’t come up I should actually be there early enough to help with any last minute things.” She said taking a sip of her wine. Thank god she had finally gotten accustomed to the taste of wine; it’s a tragedy if you don’t like wine. I hope she did get off early enough I needed as much help as possible. When dinner was over, we said our thank yous and goodbyes and headed back home. I was beyond exhausted and all I wanted was my bed. When I got in bed with Robert later I asked him about what he and Chris were being all secretive about. He told me it was nothing and that everything was fine. I hate being lied to and I knew he was lying which pissed me off even more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprises await in the next installment


	14. Friday Night Proposal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What could be going on in this chapter??

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I loved writing this scene

Before I knew it Friday was upon us and I thought I was going to throw up everywhere. I had put Robert lying to me out of my mind so that I could finish getting everything ready for the party. By lunch time Avery and I had been everywhere in New Bern to pick up what we needed and I still felt completely unprepared for the night. How in god’s name did you host for a hoard of celebrities? They are used to the best and yeah I loved my home and it was a piece of history, but it wasn’t the most luxurious thing in the world. Oh god, I’m going into an anxiety attack, holy fuck! 

Avery came into the kitchen to see me on the floor with a glass of brandy. I think she knew something was wrong because trust me when I say the only time I drink brandy is if someone’s died. She slid down to the floor beside me and took my glass. 

“Want to tell me what’s going on with you other than this party?” She asked as she took a sip from my glass.

“Robert’s lying about something and Katie said Chris has been acting weird too. I hate being lied to and I don’t know what I’m doing.” I told her in exasperation.

“I’m sure everything is fine and this party will be great. Katie is actually on her way with Reagan which is why I came to find you.” She said as she got up and put the now empty glass in the sink. She stretched her arm out to help me get up off the floor. I took a deep breath and decided the hell with it; I was going to have fun and throw an amazing party and fuck anyone else. 

Katie and Reagan walked in a little later, both with bags hanging from their arms. I looked at them really confused last I checked we had bought everything we needed.

“Clothes for tonight”, Katie said in response to my confused look. 

“Oh, just put them in my room, we can get ready there later.” I said, she and Reagan went upstairs to put their stuff up and I finished getting my shit together. The party was scheduled for 7pm and it was creeping on 6 already, everything looked as done as it was getting. We headed upstairs to get dressed. Avery had decided on a beautiful white sleeveless bodysuit that had a deep neckline with a gold belt synched at her small waist and paired it with white and gold heels. She looked stunning in white with her tanned skin, I was quite jealous to be honest. Katie went with red pants that tapered down to her ankles and a black top with a red three quarter length blazer and her heels were to die for, they were black with a bright red sole. Reagan was dressed in black slacks and a gold sleeveless blouse with a deep scoop neck and wore heels with the most gorgeous gold filigree design on them. I grabbed the first thing I saw in my closet which happened to be a pair of wide legged black slacks and flowy tiffany blue sleeveless tank that I tucked in to my pants. I decided on a pair of my favorite heels that matched the color of my shirt to a T. 

Since it was dinner we went simple with our hair and me and Avery curled ours while Reagan kept hers down and straight and Katie had only put a little bit of product in hers. Robert and Chris were already downstairs waiting when we finished up. I ran around the house like a mad woman, trying to make sure everything was the way it needed. I had left Sherlock in my room and put Hank outside for the remainder of the night so they wouldn’t be under feet while guests were here.

“You look gorgeous”, Robert whispered in my ear when he finally caught up with me. 

I smiled up at him, “You don’t look so bad yourself. So are you going to tell me who all was invited?”

“Let’s see, there’s us, then we invited Tom obviously and then pretty much everyone else.” He said nonchalantly. 

“I’m going to send you outside with Hank for the rest of the night if you don’t stop being so ambiguous.” I told him seriously. 

“I’m hurt babe. Trust me everything looks great and there is no reason to stress out.” He wrapped his arm around my side and kissed my temple. I looked over at Chris and Katie who seemed better than the other night which was a great sign. Then I heard a knock on the door and I thought my heart would jump out of my throat. I needed a fucking drink.

“I’ll get it.” Robert said. I nodded and headed to the kitchen. I really needed something to calm the nerves flowing through my veins right now. Our first guest to show up was Tom, who had brought a beautiful bouquet of flowers as a thank you for inviting him. Yeah Avery had a good one. 

She beamed at him and his thoughtfulness. I guess she had told him how stressed I had been about tonight and I was really touched. After Tom arrived it was like a flood gate of people started showing up. First Scarlett and Jeremy sans significant others, then Hemsworth with Elsa in tow, I walked around making sure everyone was doing ok. A little while later, Scarlett found me in the kitchen and gave me a hug and told me she loved my house. Anthony and Sebastian were next with Mark and after that Colbie showed up with her husband. Joss, Don and Chad were the last to arrive. 

The night was going as smoothly as I could have hoped for when Chris decided he wanted to make an announcement. I looked at Robert and he just grinned at me. What the fuck is going on? Reagan looked at me and shrugged looks like she was out of the loop too. Avery was across the room with Tom and she looked at me with look of pure confusion. I just mouthed that I had no clue back to her. 

Chris turned to look at Katie and asked her to join him. Please god don’t tell me she’s pregnant I would have to seriously punch something if she kept something like that from me, but she looked just as fucking confused as the rest of us. 

“I know we haven’t known each other long and I know we’ve only been together for a few short months, but the idea of living another minute of our lives not together is the worst feeling in the world. The night I met you was completely random and falling in love with you was completely unexpected on both sides of this relationship, but right now surrounded by our friends I would like to ask you one very important question.” I kid you not this man just dropped to one knee in the middle of my living room and brought out the most gorgeous engagement ring I have ever seen in my life. I know for a fact Katie was not expecting this and even though she had a look of pure shock with tears running down her face she had the biggest smile on her face.

Chris cleared his throat and said. “Katherine Emery Ahlborn would you do me the honor of continuing our life together side by side and becoming my wife?” I knew I had tears streaming down my face, but so did all the other women so I didn’t give a shit. Katie slid down to the floor in front of Chris and kissed him. I could barely hear the yes she whispered in his ear as she continued to cry. The smile on his face could have lit the entire city we were in. 

Everyone broke out in applause and I looked up at Robert, “So that’s why you’ve been acting all sneaky and secretive.” I said. 

“Yeah, Chris wanted to keep it a complete secret, but he needed help so he came to me figuring I could convince you to help without me having to tell you.” He looked guilty at having to lie to me, but honestly now that I knew what was going on I’m glad things worked the way they did. I turned around to look at Chris and Katie and I spoke up.

“I have a couple of bottles of champagne. I think it’s time for a toast in celebration of the newly engaged.” I walked into the kitchen to start getting glasses ready when I heard heels across the floor, when I turned around Katie was standing there. To be honest she looked like she was still processing everything that had just happened. I walked up to her and gave her a hug. 

“Let me see!” I said when I moved away from her. She held up her hand so I could see the rock that was now settled on her left finger. Chris had done an amazing job of picking out the perfect ring; it was a little over a carat with a round center stone in white gold surrounded by a ring of pink diamonds set in yellow gold and then an outer ring of white diamonds set in white gold, the band was made completely of small diamonds as well. It was a piece of art and it looked beautiful on her. “It fits you perfectly.” I told her. 

She smiled and then asked me if I knew anything about it. I shook my head no, “Robert tricked me” I said laughing. “He said that Chris needed help and Robert figured he could get me to agree to something here. He was right, how can I tell that man no?” I shrugged. Reagan walked in to see what was taking so long. 

“Glad you’re in here Reagan, I could really use some help and I’m not letting Katie help. She needs to go back in there with Chris.” I said in a stern voice and shooed her out of the kitchen. “So how does it feel to be surrounded by celebrities?” I asked her while we poured glasses of champagne.

“It’s odd and nerve wracking. How do you not put your foot in your mouth?” She asked.

“Ha, you have no idea how many times I have said something ridiculously stupid to Tom. I’ve just decided to stop talking when he’s around.” I said while laughing.

“Sebastian keeps giving me odd looks and it’s throwing me off.” She confessed.

I tilted my head to look up at her, “What do you mean odd looks?” I asked.

“I don’t know how to explain them. I don’t know if he’s trying to figure out if he’s seen me before or if I fascinate him in like a science experiment kind of way.” She said as she poured the last glass we needed. 

“You aren’t a science experiment and if I need too I have my gun in the other room. I can always grab it and possibly shoot him.” 

“Would you please not do that? I don’t think that would be a great ending to the night.” She said smiling at me.

“Ok, but if you change your mind let me know.” I placed some glasses on an antique tray my mother had given me a few years back and walked into the living room to hand out drinks.

When all the glasses had been passed around, I cleared my throat to make a toast. I have never been so nervous in my entire life. I hated making speeches. I barely passed my public speaking class for my bachelors because I hated talking to a huge group of people, even if I did know them.

“First off I would like everyone for attending tonight. I know it was kind of last minute and you can blame Robert for that. Second, I would like to make a toast to one of my very best friends and the man that stole her heart. I’ve known Katie for a handful of years and she’s the best partner I could ask for, I can’t say that I’ve known Chris that long, but in the small amount of time that I have gotten to know him, he’s an amazing man and treats Katie like a princess. As individuals you are both wonderful people and together y’all are the most sickeningly sweet couple that I have ever seen, but it’s a beautiful thing to see two people so in love like y’all are.” I raised my glass, “To Katie and Chris and too many years for the both of you.” 

Everyone raised their glasses and cheered. I felt like I could finally take a breath, the night seemed to be going without a hitch. Later on I was approached by Sebastian and asked if he could talk to me alone. I shrugged and motioned for him to follow me to the stair case.

“What can I help you with?” I asked him when we were out of ear shot.

“Reagan” was all he said.

“What about my sister?” I could feel my hackles rising. You don’t mess with my friends, but you sure as hell don’t mess with my family.

He held up his hands in a surrender fashion, “Not like that”, he said. “I was wondering if she’s single or looking for that matter.” The poor guy looked nervous as hell and I relaxed a little bit.

“She’s single, but as for if she’s looking for anyone, you should probably ask her that for yourself.” I told him. He nodded and walked away. That was the strangest conversation I had had in quite a while. Robert found me still standing by the stairs, once he was close enough I grabbed him around the waist and held him there for a little while.

“I just saw Sebastian come from here, is everything alright?” He asked as he laid his head on top of mine.

“Yeah, actually he was asking about Reagan, it was a really odd conversation. She was telling me earlier that he kept throwing her weird looks and now I know why.” I said against his chest. 

“What did he want to know?”

“If she was single, I told him she was, but he needed to talk to her, like I said weird.” I blew out a tired breath; this whole week had been one train ride of stress. I couldn’t wait until we left next week for LA. 

“She’s his type, she’s sweet, but has that ‘try and fuck with me’ attitude. He’s the same way. They’d be seen as Hollywood’s bad couple, just based completely on how they carry themselves and dress.” He said off handedly. 

“I don’t even know how she feels about him to be truthful; we’ve never talked about it.” I told him. I moved my head off his chest so I could straighten up. “I guess we should probably head back in there before someone gets the wrong idea.” Robert grinned but nodded and we headed back to the living room. When I walked in I noticed Reagan wasn’t there and neither was Sebastian, again I say odd. What was going on in my life? 

The night was coming to an end and everyone was saying good night and heading back to their respective hotels. Tom was staying with Avery in the guest room, but they had decided they were going to take a walk by the river front before bed. Reagan came and found me before she left and told me she would call me later to tell me what had happened between her and Sebastian when I asked. Katie and Chris were the last to leave, I gave Chris a hug and congratulated him one more time and told Katie I would talk to her later. I shut the door and leaned against it before moving to let Hank back in. 

Robert had turned the radio on in the house and walked into the kitchen where I was feeding Hank and filling up Sherlock’s bowl before I let him out of my room. He grabbed my hand and spun me around to dance with him to the song floating through the living room into the kitchen. I could hear him humming in my ear as we swayed back and forth. It really was the perfect ending to a marvelous night. The weekend disappeared in the blink of an eye. Reagan had called me Saturday morning to tell me about what happened with Sebastian the night before. She had to find someone to watch the clinic so she could leave with us on Wednesday; apparently her first date with Sebastian was going to be the movie premiere. I’ll give him this, he was smooth. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Monday morning at work was busy. Katie and I had a full day of court appearances and that right there made the day drag. When I finally got home I just wanted to take my shoes off, crash on the couch and not move for the rest of eternity. The problem with that plan was that I had a house full of guests, thankfully when I walked through the door Avery was cooking with Tom in the kitchen. I could have cried with joy for not having to cook tonight. Robert caught me before I could run upstairs and change.

“How was work?” He asked as he followed me.

“Long so very long, I don’t want to see the inside of a courthouse for the next year, which isn’t going to happen because that’s exactly where I’ll be tomorrow. I have to make up for leaving for LA Wednesday.” I told him as I changed. 

“At least you only have one more day before we get to leave. You get to finally see my place out there.” He said as he leaned down and kissed my shoulder.

“I’m pretty excited about the trip, the movie and being able to spend time with you in your home.” I said.

We made it back downstairs as Avery finished putting dinner on the table. “I don’t know what that is, but it smells great and I love you for life for cooking.” I told her as I walked in.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I invited Katie, Chris and Reagan since I only know how to cook for either one or an army.” She said as she turned to look at me.

“That’s fine; Katie’s going to be in a mood like me. We were in court all day dealing with dumb fucks.” Avery laughed, I’m glad she understood. 

It wasn’t long before the rest of our group joined us and Reagan looked like someone had kicked her cat.

“What’s up with you today?” I asked when she walked in.

“I hate dealing with putting animals down. I know that it’s better than them suffering and in pain, but it doesn’t make it any better.” I gave her a hug. I knew that was one of the worst parts of her job, but it didn’t mean it made it any easier with each time. I handed her something to drink and she went to the dining room.

“So has everyone started packing?” I asked when I sat down. Reagan looked at me like I was crazy. “Hey you only have a day left; you need to jump on that soon.” I said and she rolled her eyes.

“I have most of my stuff already in bags and so does Tom.” Avery said after she finished chewing her dinner. Reagan looked at me, “Have you started packing?” Robert started laughing, he had been watching me freak out since Friday about what I needed to bring. I leveled a glare at him and then turned to my sister, “Yeah kind of, though to be honest I have no idea what I will and won’t need so it’s made packing a pain in my ass.”

Katie started laughing at the other end of the table, she had been listening to me bitch since yesterday about how useless Robert had been when I started packing. I still hadn’t packed all that much and I needed to finish tonight because I knew I would want to do nothing but sleep Tuesday night since we had to leave so early Wednesday morning. Dinner was mostly centered on talking about packing and what we would do when we got to LA. I had never been to LA and wanted to fit in as much as possible in the 3 days we would be there. I knew Thursday would involve shopping with the girls to find them something to wear; I had already decided on wearing the dress Robert had bought me so I just needed to find some shoes. Then Friday would be all about the movie premiere, but Saturday I would try and see all I could before we headed back Sunday. 

After dinner Reagan stayed while Katie and Chris headed back to Katie’s place. Robert went in the other room with Avery and Tom while I finished up cleaning. Reagan picked up a stack of plates and walked into the kitchen with me.

“So why are you here and not on your way home?” I asked when I took the plates from her.

“I don’t know, maybe I wanted to give them some time alone without me being underfoot. That and I might be nervous about Friday. What if it goes to hell and I have to sit there all awkward with him at the movies?” She sat down at the bar and put her head in her hands.

“Hey trust me when I say me, Avery and Katie have all had these freak outs. I’ve come to the conclusion we all either have extreme issues or it’s a rite of passage into dating a movie star.” I said from the sink.

“This shit sucks! I hate feeling like this.” She whined.

“Eh, you get used to it and then you realize that your fears were stupid. Avery told me once that they are just normal people like us; they just have everything splashed in the public eye. So that’s one thing you have to get used to.” I turned around and looked at her. “I can tell you the first time I saw our picture on the cover of that tabloid I thought I was going to have a stroke and Katie had a worse reaction than I did, then the second time I saw a picture of me and Robert on tv I had relaxed enough that the only thing I wanted to know is if I could get a copy of it.” 

“Yeah mom called me the day the tabloid came out and asked me why you were up there, like you had called me specifically to say why. I told her I had no clue and that she needed to call you, obviously she didn’t but whatever.” Reagan said lifting her head up. 

I finished cleaning up and decided I wanted to watch something, so I grabbed Reagan’s arm and went into the living room. It looked like the other three had taken over the sitting room so I cut the tv on. I was flipping through channels when I passed the first Avengers. I turned it back and grinned at Reagan. We sat back and watched the movie until Avery walked in with Tom and Robert. 

“Really, Liz you have the real men in your house and you’re watching them on the TV?” Avery asked incredulously. 

“Uh yeah, I love this movie, for the actual premise not just the people in it.” I said not taking my eyes off the TV. Robert walked over and sat down between me and Reagan, once he was settled I threw my legs into his lap and got comfortable. Tom laughed and grabbed Avery’s hand so he could drag her to the love seat. That’s how our night ended with the five us watching The Avengers, once it was over Reagan went to head home, but Robert insisted he either walk with her down there or she crash on the couch, it was too late and too dark. She ended up on my couch and my packing did not get done dammit all!

Court again, I hate court, but that was the basis of our jobs when we weren’t in the field. Robert and Chris came by the court house when we had a break for lunch. We decided on a little café right down the street to eat at and thankfully it wasn’t very busy so we didn’t have to really worry about being disturbed. I was beyond stressed about the fact that not a damn thing had been packed for our trip and it reflected in how quiet I was at lunch.

“Are you alright?” Robert asked in concern.

I must have spaced out because Katie started snapping her fingers in my face. 

“Huh? What?” I said in confusion. Robert looked at me with a small smile and kissed the side of my head. “I asked if you were alright, but apparently not since you didn’t even hear me the first time.” He said quietly. “I’m sorry sweetie, I was thinking about the next case we have to deal with and how little time I have to pack and I just want to be done with today already.” I leaned into his shoulder and heaved out a stressed breath. 

The case we had next had been the bane of my existence since the beginning. We were dealing with some extreme shit and were just scratching the surface. We had been dealing with a massive drug operation since what felt like the start of my career at the Marshals, but I knew that was an exaggeration, it’s just this case was killing me. Katie and I had finally caught a break about 2 months ago when we finally accessed an informant deep in the rings of the operation. I knew it was going to involve Witness Protection before too long, but we needed to get through the court shit first and that was what was pissing me off the most right now.

We finished up lunch and went our separate ways. The court house was just like any other day, busy as fuck. Katie and I made our way to the court room we had been assigned for this fucking case. We brought in our witness, who was beyond pale and went straight to ghostly see through. I didn’t blame the guy though; his boss scared the hell out of me too. When we walked in, I noticed the head of the drug ring in the back of the court room and my blood froze, he looked me straight in the eye and grinned without humor. I repeat the man scared the hell out of me. I think he thought there was no way we were going to pin him for all his crimes, but we had pretty solid case. We went through the proceedings and waited on the jury to do its things. 

Unfortunately they didn’t seem to think it was solid enough and everything was dropped. We still had to put our informant in Witness Protection though, to keep him out of the drug lord’s hands and hopefully we could use him later. I’m about 95% certain the damn drug lord had gotten a hold of something important to those jury members to keep them from convicting, but there was nothing I could do about it now, like I said I fucking hated this case. Katie and I left the court house and headed to the office to grab the rest of our things, on the way I decided to bring up transferring. 

“So I’m going to put a transfer in when we get back from the movie premiere, but I wanted to run it by you first. You know, to see if you wanted to go with me or at the least give you a heads up.” I looked at her from the drivers’ side.

“You’re really going through with this aren’t you?” She asked.

“Yeah this case just put the final nail in the coffin. I need a change, not just in work, but in scenery. I was going to talk to Avery about crashing with her until I found a place of my own up there.” I kept my eyes on the road, but I could feel Katie staring at me.

“Let me think about it while we’re in LA and I’ll give you my decision when we get back Sunday.” I nodded and told her ok. We arrived at the office not long after and grabbed our things. We were on vacation again and holy shit it felt great.

I dropped Katie off and told her I would see her bright and early she just flipped me off and said bye. When I got home Avery was sitting on the porch swing with Hank beside her on the floor. She looked up and could tell I was having a bad day.

“So I know I probably shouldn’t ask, but how was court?” She asked offering me her glass of drink.

I took a sip and to my surprise she was drinking scotch. “When did you start drinking scotch?” 

“Umm… Recently, blame it on Tom. It’s one of his favorites and I’ll be honest I was shocked I like it as much as I do. You’re avoiding the question.” She said seriously.

“You’re right I am.” I sat down beside her and leaned my head against the back of the swing. I could hear Hank move to rest his head on my lap and I ran my hands through his fur absent mindedly. “It’s this fucking case. It’s been a pain since it started and we thought we had finally nailed the guy, but I’m sure he either scared the jury or has them in his pocket, either way they didn’t convict. Now I have to put our witness/informant in Witness Protection and hope to all that is holy he doesn’t get killed until we can bring this to trial again. Avery, his boss scares the fuck out of me. I don’t know how to explain it, but I do know if he ever got his hands on me he wouldn’t just kill me outright. He would take his time and made sure I knew it was going to hurt.” I finished up her drink and I must say scotch isn’t that bad, not my favorite, but not horrible.

I finally opened my eyes to see that Robert and Tom had joined us on the porch. Where the fuck did they come from and why didn’t I hear them when they got here? What a great fucking Marshal I made. Tom looked upset and Robert, well Robert looked like he was going to murder someone himself. I sent him a small smile; I knew this was the part that would be rough for him in our relationship. It was part of my job; he either needed to accept it or we needed to go our separate ways before things got more serious than they already were. 

“Hey on a positive note, I’m finally on vacation again and I was thinking of cooking, any suggestions before I go in to start?” I asked while standing up.

“Some kind of pasta would be heavenly.” I heard Avery say as Tom took my seat. 

“I can do pasta. I’m thinking Chicken Alfredo, haven’t had it in a while and I’m craving chicken.” Everyone nodded in agreement, so I walked inside with Hank and Robert trailing after me. I let Hank out the back so he could use the bathroom while I went upstairs to change. Robert grabbed my arm and turned me around, before I made it to the stairs, the next thing I knew he was crashing our mouths together in an almost urgent fashion. When he finally moved away I could see the fear in his eyes.  
“Hey, look at me. I’m ok, look I’m here, I’m safe. The man scares me so what? I never said I would let him get a hold of me, so there is nothing for you to worry about.” I told him in a voice I would usually use for skittish victims.

“I know, god Liz, I know. You’re here and I can touch you and hold you, but when I heard you talking about that guy I have never been so scared in my life. All these what if scenarios started running through my head and I thought I was going to have a heart attack. I don’t know what I would do if something were to happen to you.” He grabbed me around my waist and pulled me to him.

“It’s part of my job Robert, you knew this going in. I have no idea what to tell you to make this better, there are going to be times when I get hurt and it’s going to suck, but I need to know now if you can handle this.” I looked up at him from where I had laid my head on his chest.

“I can do this, it’s going to take some getting used to, but I can do this.” He leaned down and gave me a kiss.

“I’m going to run up and change out of this damn suit. Will you check and make sure I have some defrosted chicken please?” He nodded and I went upstairs to my room. 

Once inside, I closed the door and leaned on it. Today had sucked, but I was home and I was safe and I was with people that loved and cared for me. So why was it then that I felt like it was the calm before the storm? I straightened up and pulled out a pair of sweat pants and one of Robert’s t-shirts. I changed quickly and went back downstairs. Robert had let Hank back in and was cleaning the chicken in the sink when I walked into the kitchen. 

“You didn’t have to do that you know. I’m fully capable of doing it myself.” I said as I walked up next to him.

“I figured I would help you cook tonight, that way we are getting dinner ready, but still spending time together. Would you like a glass of wine?” I doubt anyone knew this, but cooking with a significant other was always one of my favorite things in a relationship. I don’t know what it was about standing in a kitchen and cooking together that I loved, maybe just seeing how you work together doing such a simple task, but I just did. 

“I would love a glass of wine, thank you.” I said and he walked to the cabinet to get some glasses down. “Are Avery and Tom still outside?” I asked when he handed me my drink.

“Yeah last I saw.” I walked to the door to see that they were still on the porch swing where we had left them. They made me so happy. Whereas Katie and Chris were this adorably sweet couple, Avery and Tom were this power house couple. They were both gorgeous separately, but you put them together and they just took on this whole other level of stunning, but besides that anyone could tell that they cared for each other on such a deep level, it would make you almost question your existence. I loved Avery like she was one of my own siblings and it was nice to see her finally comfortable and happy with someone. 

I walked away before they could see me spying on them and rejoined Robert in the kitchen. I started the water to cook the noodles in and Robert finished cutting up the chicken. It didn’t take long for dinner to finish cooking so I went to let Avery and Tom know we were ready to start eating soon. After dinner, I went to go pack. Packing is such an inconvenience, whenever I move I’m hiring someone to do this bullshit. Once I was finished I laid out my travel clothes and put my carry on beside the bathroom door so I could put my last minute items in it. Robert was already sprawled across the bed with Hank at the end. My life was pretty damn close to perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boooo!!!! Did I scare you?? Probably not whatever


	15. LA Flights, Shopping and More

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flying to LA with dinner, big decisions and more

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will not ever own actors... so the only thing I own is the story itself and my characters... end of story
> 
> The lull before the Movie Premier Madness

The next morning I saw 3 am way too quickly. Who the fuck decided on a 6 am flight? Oh wait that was me. I really needed to apologize to everyone for that stupid idea. I rolled over and saw that Robert had already gotten up. Where did he run off to? I crawled out of bed to brush my teeth and get dressed, when I finished in the bathroom and walked out; Robert was walking back into the room fully dressed and ready to go.

“Where did you go?” I asked while I grabbed my luggage and carry on. 

“I woke up a little bit before our alarm, thought I would go ahead and let Hank out.” 

“You know if you keep this up I’m going to be spoiled rotten.” I said as I leaned up and gave him a kiss. 

“That’s the plan, love.” He said as he grabbed my luggage from me. “Avery and Tom are already downstairs. Have you heard from either Reagan or Katie?” 

I nodded, “Yeah Reagan text me and said they should be here in the next few minutes. I need to text mom and remind her to check on Sherlock and Hank while I’m gone.” When we reached the bottom of the stairs I saw the headlights to Katie’s car. We were using Tom’s rented SUV to get to the airport so we wouldn’t have to drive more than one vehicle. I yelled for Avery to come on as Robert and I walked outside. 

Once everyone was settled in the truck we were off to the airport. The ride was a quiet affair, but I don’t think anyone really minded. The trip was going to take us a little over 7 hours, which put us getting to LA around 1pm. When we got to the airport Tom went and turned in the vehicle while we all got our stuff through security. God I just wanted to be on the plane already. After Tom caught up with us, we found our gate and tucked in to wait for our plane to board, knowing my luck it would take forever. Six o’clock rolled around and we were finally being called to board our plane, praise everything that’s holy.

The last thing I remember was falling asleep 10 minutes into our flight and now we were preparing to land. Shit I must have been more tired than I originally thought guess the stress was really getting to me. By the time we had landed and claimed all our baggage it was almost 1:30pm which meant we still had a good portion of the day to do whatever we wanted. Thankfully both Chris and Robert had places here and we didn’t have to worry about checking into any hotels. We made plans to meet up for dinner later at Robert’s place and went our separate ways, Chris and Katie headed to his place while Reagan, Avery, Tom and I headed to Robert’s. 

We made the hour and half long drive to Malibu where Robert’s house was located. When we pulled in I couldn’t help but gasp, I mean really this place was absolutely beautiful. It was a two story ivory and tan piece of art. Once Robert parked, we piled out and headed in. When you first walk in there is a stair case to your right and the living room was straight ahead. The whole place had a very light and airy feel about it with its open concept and huge vaulted ceilings. On the other end of the living room was a set of double doors that led to the back yard where there was a huge stone patio and I kid you not actual horses. Who has horses just chilling in their back yard? Apparently he does, but seriously the place was a house you dream about. 

Robert gave us the grand tour that ended with the six bedrooms upstairs, Avery and Tom took one that faced the back yard and Reagan took one a little further down the hall that faced the front drive. Robert grabbed my hand and led me to the master bedroom that was bigger than my whole bedroom suite put together. The head of the bed was placed against the opposite side of the wall where there was a pair of huge windows beside a set of double doors that led to the most beautiful balcony I had ever seen. I could definitely get used to this.

After putting my things up, we joined everyone downstairs to decide on what we wanted to eat. The problem with that was Robert hadn’t been home in a while so there was absolutely nothing in the house to actually cook, much less eat. Avery, Reagan and I made the decision we would make the trip to the grocery store and when Katie got to the house all the girls would cook, should be an interesting experience. We hadn’t all cooked together since college and that had not turned out as well as we had all hoped. Meh, second times the charm I guess or was that third? It better be second or we will have to order take out and that’s just a pain. Dinner was going to be a seafood affair, which meant lobster, crab, shrimp and some type of fish, I think we were leaning towards getting a couple of different ones and making the guys grill it. 

Grocery shopping was an experience, not only finding it but trying to remember everything we needed. I’m sure if I called Robert one more time he would possibly kill me, but I have no clue what he actually has in his kitchen so this was not my fault. Once everything was paid for we headed back to the house to start dinner, thankfully when we pulled in Chris’s car was in the drive. We grabbed all the bags and headed in only for me to run smack into Reagan’s back since she had stopped in the middle of the damn door way. 

“Reagan seriously a warning would have been fucking fantastic.” I exclaimed when I regained my footing. I leaned around her to see what had made her stop so suddenly. Apparently Chris had picked up Sebastian along the way. Well that would explain why she had gone stock still. My yelling on the other hand had brought the attention of the whole house.

“Sorry, sorry where do you want me to put these.” She said, turning around to look at me with wide eyes. I nodded my head towards the kitchen and she headed there without another word. I motioned for Katie to join us. We needed to start cooking but mostly it was to corner Reagan. What was with that reaction? When the four of us made it to the kitchen without another incident I counted it as a small victory. 

“So before we all jump in and start cooking, want to tell me what that was all about in there?” I asked Reagan who was avoiding any and all eye contact. The only response we got out of her was a small shrug. “Let’s try that again shall we?” I said as I turned her away from the bags to face the three of us. 

“I don’t know we’ve talked a little, mostly over text message. I wasn’t expecting to see him until Friday night at the premiere and even then we wouldn’t have to actually talk much. Now he’s here which means I have to carry on a conversation and the likely hood of me putting my foot in my mouth is at a higher chance.” She said with a resigned sigh.

“Dear god shut up and stop being stupid. We’ve all said stupid shit and it’s going to continue to happen. We’re human it’s a part of life.” I said as I went to finish unpacking our supplies. Yeah it was blunt and to the point, but I’m the sister so I didn’t need to sugar coat it for her. She looked at me for a moment and then burst out laughing. See, nothing to worry about. 

Somewhere in the house someone had turned on the music and I could hear it flowing through the house into the kitchen. That’s how I spent my night, cooking with my best friends and sister to some of my favorite songs, in one of the most beautiful homes I had ever stepped foot in. When dinner was finished cooking we made our way outside to the patio table and chairs, where we ate and danced and just enjoyed each other’s company. Sometime during the night Reagan had gotten over her stupid insecurities and was currently dancing with Sebastian. After one too many glasses of wine everyone crashed at Robert’s for the night, which in the long run actually worked out better for me and the girls since we planned on shopping the next day.

The next morning, I woke up at around 6am and couldn’t get back to sleep, so I decided to head downstairs to make a cup of coffee and watch the sun rise. I walked out onto the back patio with a blanket and my coffee and got comfortable. It wasn’t long before the sun rose and its rays started warming me up. About an hour later I heard the doors behind me open and felt someone’s arms wrap around my shoulders.

“What is it with you sneaking out of bed and me waking up to find you missing?” Robert whispered in my ear. 

“What is it with you trying to get shot?” I said laughing.

“I asked first.” He said sitting down beside me.

“I woke up really early and I thought you might need the sleep, so I came down here to watch the sun rise.” I said looking over at him.

“You could have woken me up. It would have been nice to watch the sun rise with you.” He took my hand in his and kissed the top of it. I swear I fall in love with this man more and more every second of the day. “So what are your plans for today?” He asked.

“Well the girls and I are supposed to go shopping for their movie premiere outfits and I have to find shoes that will do that amazing dress justice. What about you?” I said with a smile.

“Now that I’m back in town for a little while I thought I would spend some time with Indio.” He said as he let go of my hand to steal my cup of coffee.

“Hey, that’s mine and that’s good. I’m glad you’ll get to see him. It must be hard not seeing him when you travel so much.” I said.

“When he was younger yeah, but now that he’s older it’s not as bad. He visits me on different sets depending on his own schedule.” He stood up and offered me his hand to help me out of my chair. “Let’s go make some breakfast for the rest of the house.” He said after he gave me a kiss.

We were about halfway through with making pancakes when everyone else decided to join us, which meant I was on my third cup of coffee or somewhere around that number and that was probably not a good thing. 

“What cup number is that?” Katie asked pointing at my coffee cup.

“Umm… My third, but he drank half of my first one and that’s not cool and now I’m making my fourth cup and we have shopping to do later and I think I might crawl out of my skin right now.” I said as I finished up making my next cup, unfortunately I saw Robert’s arm pass my eye sight and take the coffee cup away. “Hey again I say that’s mine, what are you doing with it?”

“I think you should switch to juice now.” He said as he kissed the top of my head.

“Weekday equals coffee it’s still a weekday” I complained. I just wanted my damn coffee. Sebastian and Tom looked at me like I had grown a second head, but everyone else had gotten used to my crazy coffee habits and just laughed at me. 

“So what time did you wake up if you’re on your fourth cup anyways?” Avery said as she got a glass down from the cabinet.

“Around 6 couldn’t sleep anymore so I came down here to watch the sun rise.” I said when she handed me a glass of juice. Stupid juice that’s a weekend thing, it’s going to throw me completely off now.

“Good god Liz what was it you said in New York? We’re on vacation you’re supposed to sleep in.” Katie said with a surprised look on her face.

“I know I haven’t been sleeping well these past few days.” I said with a shrug. I could feel Robert staring at me with concern. “I’ll be fine guys I just need to run a marathon and I’ll be good.”

Once breakfast was finished and we ate everyone went up to get ready for the day, which meant shopping! We met up downstairs where Robert handed me the keys to his Ford F-150 and told us to have fun and that we would be heading to LA to get a hotel for the night when we got back. I guess that made sense seeing as the premiere was in LA and no one wants to drive an hour and a half after they’ve gotten all dressed up. Shopping was relaxing, thankfully the only thing I needed to do was find shoes so I could just focus on helping the girls find something to wear. 

In the end, Avery had chosen a mid-thigh length purple form fitting lace dress with a high neck and open back and three quarter length sleeves. She picked out a pair of black lace stilettos to finish the outfit off. Reagan went with black dress with a black mesh lace overlay with long bell sleeves and scalloped edges that hit around mid-thigh. It was a very hippie-ish style dress which shocked me the most. She paired the dress with black leather heels with a gold wing style design on the front. Katie decided on a beautiful cobalt blue dress that was made of a chiffon material that flowed to her knees and was sleeveless with spaghetti straps and a round neckline. She went with a simple low heeled golden sandaled style shoe that matched the dress perfectly. I finally decided on simple black pump stilettos to go with the dress Robert had bought me and we were done with shopping.

When we got back to the house it was a little after lunch and we were the only ones there. Apparently Robert was still with Indio and the rest of the guys I actually don’t know where they went. So we decided to make lunch and sit outside, might as well take advantage of the nice weather while we could. During lunch I texted Robert to see when he would be back and he told me that we were going to meet him in LA since he was already there. That would have been nice to know earlier, but whatever, I relayed the message to the girls. I guess we were just waiting for the other guys to get there so we could head out for the night. 

Eventually Chris, Tom and Sebastian showed up and it wasn’t long before we were locking up and heading out to LA. I can’t even begin to describe how a handful of small town girls feel in Los Angeles. It’s an amazingly huge and wonderful place for someone who doesn’t get out of North Carolina much. The whole experience of meeting Robert and everyone else he’s introduced us to, is beyond imagination and I’m so thankful for every minute. I sat in the back seat of the SUV by myself soaking up all the sights and sounds. 

Sometime later we pulled up at the Sunset Tower Hotel, where we would be staying for the next two nights, apparently there was going to be an after party Friday night and Robert and Chris were kind of expected to go so we decided we would all go. What I didn’t think about was how we were splitting up. Did each couple get their own room? Did we split off into two sets of couples? People! What is going on right now? I hate being confused and not in charge. We walked into the lobby to see Robert talking to the front desk. This place was stunning, you could tell it had been remodeled, but they kept all those little things that made it unique and one of a kind. We joined Robert at the front desk, when he was finished checking in he turned around and grabbed me.

“I missed you.” He said and kissed me.

“I missed you too, but I was only gone for a few hours, besides you had Indio to keep you company.” I said with a smile.

“Yeah I know, but I still missed having you beside me.” I couldn’t stop the blush rising when I noticed everyone was watching us. I keep forgetting that the public didn’t really see us out together often. “The hotel only does single rooms except their guest rooms which put two beds in one room so we’re all getting our own penthouse suites. I’ve got us checked in if you want to go ahead up.” I nodded and he took my hand to lead me to the elevators. 

The penthouse suite was magnificent. I was not used to this, everything had that old Hollywood feel, but with a modern twist. I loved it. The room had a separate living room with wrap around windows that lead to the outside terrace. The bedroom had a massive California King sized bed that I knew for a fact I was going to get lost in. Come on guys I’m 5’1 I don’t need a bed that big ever. My favorite part though was the bathroom, I know weird, but it had a bathtub big enough to fit at least 4 people and a separate shower. 

“How is Indio doing?” I asked when I sat down on the couch in the living area.

“Great, he’s going on a small tour with his band soon so I won’t see him for a little while, unless I get time off from filming.” He said as he joined me.

“Filming? What are you doing next?” I asked.

“Well once The Avengers 2 premieres are over, I have to head to London to start filming Sherlock Holmes 3.” He said looking over at me.

“Sherlock Holmes 3!? Seriously!? Sorry I’m going to fan-girl for a minute because those movies are amazing and I’m trying to contain my excitement about there being a third one.” Yeup I had a full on girl moment, but can you blame me? Finding out about movies that the public didn’t know about yet, it’s pretty awesome. I could hear Robert laughing at me, but I didn’t care.

“So what do you want to do for dinner? We can stay in the room and order room service, we could grab everyone else and eat at one of the two different options downstairs or we could go out into LA. The choice is yours my dear.” Robert said after he had stopped laughing at me.

“Umm… Let me text the girls and see what they want to do. I don’t want to break any plans if they’ve made any.” I said picking up my phone. 

I shot a quick text to Avery, Katie and Reagan to see if they wanted to do dinner with everyone or if they each made plans with their significant others. It wasn’t long when my phone started going crazy with replies. 

_**Chris and I were just talking about that. We haven’t made any sort of plan if you want to get everyone together that’s cool with us. –Katie** _

_**Tom and I are down for eating together, if you and Robert haven’t made plans yet. –Ave** _

_**Ummm… Sebastian says he just wants food and if he doesn’t get it soon he will start a riot so I’m going to go with a group dinner and soon because I might possibly need the help reigning in the monster. -Reagan** _

I couldn’t help but laugh at Reagan’s text and showed Robert. I texted Katie and Avery back first.

_**Meet us downstairs and we can choose between the two places down there. –Liz** _

_**Reagan tell Sebastian to not go on a rampage. We are meeting downstairs to pick between the two places in the hotel. If the monster wants to eat he will get dressed and head downstairs as soon as possible. –Liz** _

Robert and I got ready and headed down to wait for everyone. Chris and Katie were the first to join us followed by Avery and Tom; it took Reagan and Sebastian another 5 minutes to show up. Reagan just shrugged her shoulders and I looked at Sebastian who looked ready to eat anyone in his way of food. We finally all decided on The Terrace, which had an indoor/outdoor open scheme. We were seated inside facing the open walls to see the LA skyline.

Dinner was wonderful and the company even better. I hated the idea that after this weekend everyone would pretty much go their separate ways. Avery would head back to New York; Tom would be off to start filming for a movie called Skull Island and Robert would be on his was to London. Chris and Sebastian were going to go start work on Captain America 3, while Reagan, Katie and I would be heading back to New Bern. I cleared my throat and decided now was as good a time as any to bring up the transfer.

“So Avery, I’m going to need a place to crash for a little while.” I said looking at her.

“What do you mean?” She said looking thoroughly confused.

“When I get back, I’m putting in my transfer for New York. I was going to see if you would let me crash until I found my own place and got settled.” I could feel Katie and Robert staring at me.

Avery turned to look at Katie, “Are you going to need a place as well?” She asked.

Katie shook her head in exasperation, “I haven’t decided what I’m doing yet, I told Liz to give me until we got back and I would give her a decision then.”

“I’m not forcing her to make any decisions just so we’re all clear here. I need a change of pace from North Carolina. I need new sights and Reagan don’t you dare tell mom until I have finished putting my paper work in and tell her myself.” I said pointing my finger at her. She just looked at me with big eyes and started laughing.

“How am I supposed to keep something like this a secret, she knows when we are keeping thing from her.” Reagan finally said.

“I don’t know avoid her like the plague, it shouldn’t take long for everything to go through to be honest.” I said. I noticed Robert hadn’t said anything yet so I looked over to see him deep in thought.

“What’s up with you? I thought you would be the first to say something about this.” I whispered to him after everyone started talking about the premiere.

“Are you transferring because of the case?” He said looking at me.

“Oh god no, I mean yeah the situation sucks and it was kind of the last straw, but when we went to New York and I saw what it was like there I had started thinking then about moving. I need a change of scenery and Avery is in New York so I wouldn’t be completely alone even if Katie decides to stay in New Bern.” I told him. I feel like I was justifying why I was moving and I didn’t like it. Why did it matter if I moved? Wasn’t that my decision to make?

“Can we talk about this when we get back in our room?” He asked me. Well great this wasn’t what I was expecting at all. 

“Sure” I said returning my attention to everyone else and our plans for tomorrow.

After plans had been made for tomorrow, which included the spa with massages and getting our hair and nails done we all went to our rooms. As soon as we were in our room I rounded on Robert.

“So do you want to explain to me why you all of a sudden have an issue with where I move?” I asked. I could feel my anger rising and I needed to chill before this turned into some kind of yelling match.

“I never said I had an issue with you moving to New York.” He said looking at me like I had lost my mind.

“Well your response downstairs kind of speaks differently.” I said sitting down on the edge of the bed to take my shoes off.

“Can I say what I have to say before you start taking my actions and misconstruing them?” He said sitting next to me. I shrugged but kept my mouth shut. “I don’t know if you know this, but I was born and raised in New York and had been thinking a lot recently, even before I met you, about getting a house there. I was completely blind-sided when you said you were planning on transferring. I’m about to go out on a limb here, but I need to know that you are seriously putting in a transfer when you get back home.” He said before grabbing my hand which made me look up at him. Why was he looking at me like that?

“Yes I’m serious. I have all the paper work at home. I’m just waiting until Monday to turn them in because if Katie decides she’s putting a transfer in we were going to put them both in at the same time. If it wasn’t for that I would have turned them in before we flew out Wednesday. What is this about?” I asked. I was really getting concerned.

“I know it’s a big step, I mean obviously not as big as Chris and Katie’s, but would you like to get a place together in New York?” He said. Seriously, get a house with him. That is a big step; I haven’t lived with anyone in forever.

“Are you sure you want to live with me? I mean it’s not just me I have Sherlock and Hank and I’m not giving them up and there will be times when I have to leave out of the blue and then there are the times where I feel like I live at the office.” I was rambling I knew I was rambling, but I was trying to process what he had just asked me.

“Hey I told you I accepted everything about you and your job. I think I have you beat on the weird hours and traveling though.” He said. I leaned up and kissed him. “Is that a yes?” He asked.

“I would love to get a place with you.” I told him in a small voice. This was a scary decision. I hadn’t taken this into consideration at all when I decided to transfer. I was just going to crash with Avery until I found a nice brownstone, but now I was going to find a house with Robert. Holy shit! I needed to go to sleep, I’m making way to many big decisions on very little sleep, but he looked so happy right now that I didn’t regret our choice one bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Movie Premier Madness next... oh boy oh boy


	16. Movie Premier Weekend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YAY from movie premiers and after parties

Movie Premiere Day Morning! That’s what I’ve decided I’m naming this morning. I woke up in an extremely good mood. I went to bed in a fantastic mood and it had traveled into this morning and I was ok with that. Robert and I ordered breakfast to our room and ate out on the terrace off our living room. It was a wonderful way to start the morning. Eventually I started getting texts from the girls as each of them woke up; thankfully it wasn’t all at once so my phone went off in stages. Katie woke up first, I’m guessing since we’re usually on the same schedule due to work. Avery was second and already wanted to go to the spa and Reagan brought up the rear with waking up last. Her clinic didn’t usually open until 9 am so she wasn’t used to getting up as early as the rest of us.

When everyone finished their breakfast and the guys went out to do whatever it is the guys do before a movie premiere, the girls and I headed to the spa. Oh My God! I never want to leave this place again. It was seriously some kind of heaven on earth and I have never felt so relaxed in my life. We finished with the massages and such around lunch time and decided to grab lunch at the hotel. Unfortunately the Tower Bar, which is the other restaurant, was only open at night so we ate at The Terrace again, but decided on sitting outside, where they had tents set up over the tables. 

During lunch, I told the girls about the conversation Robert and I had had last night. That seemed to shut everyone up. Katie was the first to finally to say something.  
“You know that’s kind of a big deal right?” She said looking at me.

“I think that you need to look down at that rock on your finger before you start talking about big decisions.” I said laughing. 

“Ok you have me there, but still it’s a big deal. How are you feeling about it?” She asked while Avery and Reagan looked on with curious expressions.

“You know for a while there I thought he was going to flip shit about me moving without you know asking for his permission or some shit like that, but when he asked me to get a house with him it took me for a big loop. I wasn’t expecting it at all, but after we made the decision to move in together and have a place that’s ours I don’t think I could be any happier. I mean yeah it’s going to take some time adjusting to living together, it won’t be the same as him just visiting, but I love the idea. He helps so much already with Hank and Sherlock so I know that won’t be an issue and we both work such weird hours so we wouldn’t be up under each other all the time.” I said after I took a sip of wine. I’m on vacation don’t judge me. 

“I think it’s great and I can’t wait to have you in the same city again.” Avery said with a huge grin.

Reagan didn’t look particularly thrilled, but she was my sister and living in different states wasn’t our favorite thing about my job. I put my hand on her arm and she smiled at me. Katie still hadn’t said anything and I looked over at her.

“Are you ok?” I asked.

“Yeah, I still haven’t made my decision and the day to give you an answer is creeping up and I might have a panic attack.” She said.

“Hey you don’t have to base your decision on what I’m doing here. Yeah it would be great for you to come with me, but I don’t expect you to. What are you going to do after you and Chris get married? Are y’all going to live together before or just wait until after?” I hadn’t thought to ask her this. I still had to get used to the idea that it wasn’t just her anymore.

“We haven’t really talked about it to be truthful. I mean I know we need to, but it hasn’t come up. If he were to ask me to move to Timbuktu I would. Dear god I hope he doesn’t, but you get my point.” She said with a small smile.

“I know I asked for a response by the time we get home, but you need to talk to Chris and figure out what y’all are doing. Yes I want you to move to New York with me, but it’s not just you anymore and you have to compromise now.” I said patting her arm. “Now enough with the stressful talk, I’m already freaking out about getting in front of a lot of flashing bulbs on purpose and I think it’s time to go get our nails done.” I said while paying our check.

The movie premiere was a big deal not only for the guys and the movie, but for the four of us as well. This would be the first time Katie and Chris would be going out in public as an engaged couple, it would also be the first time Robert and I would be going out in public voluntarily letting people ask us questions about our relationship. The premiere would be the outing of Tom and Avery as an official couple and I know Reagan was freaking about her and Sebastian’s first date being this public as well. See movie premiere equals big freaking deal!

After lunch we headed to the salon that was connected to the spa in the hotel to get our nails done. It didn’t take long for them to finish up with that and we decided just to head up to my room until it was time for us to get our hair done for the night. At around 4 when we were going to head to the salon there was a knock on my door. When I opened the door a handful of hair stylist came marching in the room with a makeup artist, to say I was confused would be an understatement.

“Um, hello? Can I help you?” I asked to the guy who looked to be in charge of this little army.

“Hello my dear, we are here to get you 4 beautiful ladies ready for tonight, compliments of a few nice gentlemen.” He said while they all set up their equipment. I’m completely baffled and from looking at the other girls, so were they.

I picked up my phone and text Robert.

_**Care to explain why there is an army of people that just waltzed into our room? –Liz** _

_**Umm no lol have fun. I love you. –RDJ** _

_**I love you too you infuriating man. –Liz** _

Well ok then, I guess we didn’t have to go anywhere to get ready. I told Avery, Katie and Reagan to go get there clothes and we would make a party out of it. By the time they got back the hair stylists and makeup artist were set up and ready to go. Avery and my hair style would take the longest so they started with us while the makeup started on Katie while Reagan sat back and watched with amusement waiting her turn. 

Avery’s hair was being braided at the base of her skull from one side to the other and being put into a low side ponytail with curls. She wanted something nice and simple but would still show off the back of her dress. I wanted something fun, so they parted my hair where a good portion of my hair was on the left of my head while we went with a faux shaved braided look on the right the rest of my hair was put into loose curls and I absolutely loved it. When we finished with our hair Katie was just having the finishing touches of her makeup done. The makeup artist had done a golden color on the top with a dark blue at the edges and the bottom of her eyes, it was absolutely gorgeous. Reagan and Katie were in the hairstylist chairs by the time I sat down to get my makeup done.

The makeup artist and I decided on a simple black smoky eye since I had already decided on something crazy with my hair. It didn’t take long before I was finished and Avery took my spot, they had decided on a light purple color in the corner of her eye that blended into a grey black color at the edges, when we were finished we starting getting dressed with Katie, while Reagan got her makeup done. Katie had her hair in a messy style for her pixie cut while Reagan went with wavy style loose curls. When Reagan joined us to get dressed her makeup was complete, she had done a gold eye shadow over her top lid with a black cat eye liner and it look amazing and was perfect with the dress she had decided on. 

When the stylists and makeup artist were done packing up we gave them all a hug and thanked them before I led them out the door. It was about time for us to head downstairs to meet the guys. Sometime during getting ready Katie had received a text from Chris that said we would be meeting the guys in the lobby. The nerves were starting to kick in. I knew that we were about to throw ourselves into the public eye on purpose. It was one thing to get caught unexpectedly it was completely another when you did it voluntarily. For some reason this was like giving the paparazzi a bigger permission to annoy the shit out of you. 

I have to say though, we looked damn good. Yeah I can be conceited when I just had a handful of professionals get me ready for a really big night, bite me. Besides I was about to go down a movie premiere carpet on the arm of one really hot man with a bunch of gorgeous actresses around me, I needed to feel good about myself or it was going to show that I was freaking out. We all grabbed our clutches, mine, Katie and Avery’s held our badges along with a few odd and end things and Reagan’s just held her phone amongst other things and headed out the door. Hey you never knew when you needed your badge, trust me when I say sometimes you needed it at the most random times.

When we got in the elevator I thought I was going to throw up and I knew if I was the other girls were almost on the same page. I looked over to see Avery cracking up at me. Well I thought we were all on the same page. 

“How are you not freaking out right now?” I asked her.

“I am, but my excitement outweighs it. I’m about to publically stake claim on one of the hottest men in the business sorry I’m enjoying the hell out of this.” She said laughing.

“You’ll be enjoying until the crazy fan girls come after you.” I said grinning at her.

“They can bring it. I have a gun. I’m honestly not concerned, Tom and I have had numerous conversations about it and yeah I’m worried about the tabloids, but I’ve watched you and Katie tackle that with no problem so I just need to follow suit.” That’s Avery, she takes everything head first and I was glad she could. It made handling the stupid fucks of this world a lot easier. 

I looked over at Reagan who looked like she would bolt at any minute. I leaned my shoulder into her and smiled. “You got this.” I whispered to her and that seemed to calm her down a bit. Katie looked like she just wanted off the elevator not that I could blame her for that one. I guess I was the only one nervous about being asked fifty million questions about my personal life with Robert. The elevator pinged to let us know we had hit the lobby floor. Thank god the guys were already there waiting for us when we walked out. I did not want to wait around all dressed up, people tend to stare and it’s annoying.

Robert was facing the way of the elevators and was the first to see us, the smile he sent me made his entire face light up and my knees go weak, not the best idea in heels, but hey my body does what it wants. His reaction caused the others to turn around and I laughed because these guys are just ridiculous. When we finally joined them we headed straight outside to all get in separate cars, apparently we had to each make our own entrance and not together it seemed. 

“Nervous?” He asked when we got in the car that would take us the theater.

“Uh yeah, what kind of question is that? We are about to answer all sorts of questions about our life.” I said once I was settled.

“You don’t have to answer anything you’re not comfortable with, just tell them what you want.” He said after he kissed my temple. 

I leaned into his side and tried to calm my beating heart. I felt the car start to slow down and thought I might die on the spot, I knew we were almost to the carpet where they would open the door. When the car finally stopped I looked at Robert, “Let’s do this.” I said and he grinned at me. The only way to get this done and get into the theater was to take it head on and dammit I was with Robert I could do anything.

The first thing I noticed was that we were the first couple out of our group to get there, the second and third thing I noticed was how bright and loud it was. I put on my smile that I used for press releases when the Marshals made me get in front of the camera and Robert grabbed my hand to lead me through the circus of people and interviewers. We stopped in front of some fans and Robert signed autographs and took some pictures with them before his PR team led us to the first group of interviewers.

Thankfully the first couple of interviewers didn’t bother to ask anything about us and kept it strictly to the movie. A little later I heard the crowd’s cheers get louder and I looked to see that Chris and Katie had finally gotten there, I smiled and waved as they walked towards us. They got stopped for a few pictures and for some interviews. I knew there was no way they were getting out of the questions about the massive rock on Katie’s hand. Following their entrance was Tom and Avery and holy shit they were one hot couple. I couldn’t help but watch in awe as Avery walked hand in hand with Tom like she had been doing this for years.

What was with my friends, they did this stuff like they were pros, while I’m over here floundering. I have no shame in saying that I was completely jealous. As we moved to the next set of interviewers, Reagan and Sebastian joined the red carpet and went about whatever circuit his people made them take. My sister looked fantastic, she smiled and looked to be having a great time. I could see Sebastian leaning down to whisper in her ear from time to time and I leaned over and whispered to Robert.

“You weren’t kidding, they are going to be labeled as the ‘bad couple’ in Hollywood, but look at them they look great together.” I said and he looked over and nodded. Both Reagan and Sebastian were in black and they looked fantastic in that ‘I’m going to rough you up’ type of way, it made me laugh because I knew both of them were a pair of goobers. 

It wasn’t long before we hit that one interviewer that wanted to ask every type of personal question under the sun. Of course it had to be a woman and she looked at me with open disgust, that shit right there tends to piss me off. She was the type to be very touchy feely and practically purred Robert’s name. I think he could tell I was getting uncomfortable and leaned down to kiss me. The man could already read me like a book. It eased a lot of tension and we finished answering what questions we wanted to answer and finished up our circuit.

When we got into the theater we stood around talking and waited for our group to join us. It wasn’t long before Katie and Chris walked in. Katie made a b-line for me and I couldn’t help but laugh at her.

“So how did it go?” I asked once she was in front of me.

“Jesus H. Christ, people are nosey as fuck.” She breathed out. “Did you get the snob towards the end?” I nodded and rolled my eyes. “When Chris and I got up to here she was bitching about how Robert could do so much better and didn’t understand what he saw in you. I have never wanted to punch someone as badly as I did then. Chris had to hold onto my hand to keep it from happening.” She ranted. 

“Yeah she had an open disgusted look as soon as we walked over there, I think Robert could tell she was rubbing me the wrong way so he kissed me in front of her. If looks could kill I would be dead right now.” I said. I noticed Avery and Tom had finally walked in. They reached us about the time that Sebastian and Reagan walked into the theater. I waited until all they were with us before I asked anymore questions.

“So any crazy ass questions for y’all?” I asked Avery and Reagan when the joined us.

“Someone asked me if Tom was good in bed.” Avery said with a laugh. Reagan looked over at her to see if she was serious, apparently she was.

“What did you say?” Reagan asked. I mean we all wanted to know so whatever.

“I looked at Tom and we both started laughing. I mean how was I supposed to answer that, so I said a lady never kisses and tells, because honestly that’s none of their damn business.” She said with a shrug.

“That’s ok apparently I’m not good enough for Robert.” I said looking over to where the interviewer was now standing inside the theater. 

“Who the fuck said that? Do I need to go crazy on some bitch?” Avery asked while turning around in circles to find the culprit. Reagan looked pretty pissed too. 

I grabbed Avery to stop her moving and told her not to worry about it. Honestly the shit wasn’t that big of a deal and Robert loved me so whatever. She nodded and Reagan calmed down a little bit.

“So how did your interviews go?” Reagan asked me.

“I mean they were interviews. We were asked stupid shit like what did we eat for breakfast all the way to very personal shit like what was our favorite position in bed?” I said trying to put on my most offended face. People were weird that’s for sure and nosey but they were harmless in their questions. I looked over to Katie. “So anything said about the rock?” I asked.

“God you would think they had never seen an engagement ring before.” She said with exasperation. “They wanted to know every little detail about when it happened, where it happened, what he said. Then they wanted to know when we’re getting married, where the venue was. It just happened for fucks sake. I don’t even know what the plan is.” I couldn’t help but laugh at her mock outrage.

“You loved every minute of it.” I said with a knowing smile.

“Not every minute of it, but pretty close to. I love Chris so much and I have no problem showing that off in any way, shape or form.” She said grinning.

The next thing I knew the guys were joining us and saying it was time to be seated. Robert entwined our fingers and led us to where we would be sitting and said that he, Chris and Tom had to go back stage for a little while and left us with Sebastian. I leaned over to look at him, “I guess you’re stuck with us by your lonesome for a while.” I said with a wink, he just laughed in response.

Once everyone was seated the whole cast of The Avengers were introduced by Joss and they all said a little bit about the movie and what they most enjoyed during filming. They didn’t go into too much because they had junkets tomorrow morning to answer all the in depth shit. The cast dispersed to their seats and the movie started. The trailer didn’t do that movie justice. It was amazing, wonderful, action packed and every other fantastic word you can think of and I couldn’t wait to see it again. When the movie was over we all stood and clapped, this was going to win so many awards and it deserved every single one of them.

After the movie, everyone, who was invited, headed back to the hotel for the after party. The Terrace had been transformed to host and it was amazing to say the least. The entire cast of every Marvel movies was there along with everyone from The Avengers 2 movie crew. Sometime during the night I was approached by Scarlett, it’s not that we aren’t friendly, but other than our little group I wasn’t actively sought out for by a movie star. 

“What can I do for you this lovely evening?” I asked with a smile after she pulled me to the side.

“I actually have something for you.” She said smiling back. I looked up at her confused. “I have a picture I think you might want. I was going through my phone the other night and completely forgot I had taken pictures when we went to the Phase 3 party and well I ran across one of you and Robert. Want to see?” She asked. 

“Of course, I didn’t get a chance to take any that night and would love any that you have.” I said. 

“I have more from that night, but they’re all on my computer at this point. I’ll email them to Robert so he can pass them on to you, but this one I kept on my phone. I figured I would be seeing you tonight.” She said pulling up the picture on her phone.

I absolutely loved it. It was taken after Robert’s impromptu dance. From the looks of it, it was right after he had dipped me. We were still on the dance floor; I had my right arm wrapped around his neck and my left hand lying on his right arm. He was looking at the DJ with a huge grin and I had my forehead resting against his cheek with my eyes closed and smiling. The picture was taken at the perfect moment to capture us completely off guard.

“I love it. I mean absolutely love it, can I have it?” I asked her.

“Of course, that’s why I wanted to show it to you. I don’t know how I caught it, but you both look so happy and I figured you’d want to see it as soon as possible. Give me your number and I’ll send it to you right now.” She said taking her phone back.

Once I had given her my number she sent it straight away and I couldn’t wait to get it printed off. I joined my friends who were at the bar and ordered a drink. The night went on from there, a lot of laughter and movie talk with lots of drinks being drank. We all finally made it back to our room’s way after midnight and my feet were killing me and I was beyond tired. It wasn’t long after my head hit the pillow before I was out.

Robert woke me up the next morning, at what seemed like that ass crack of dawn, to let me know that he, Chris and Tom were leaving to head to their press junkets. He gave me a kiss before he left and I groaned in response, what in god’s name time was it? I feel like death. I guess I fell back asleep because the next thing waking me up is my phone screeching in my ear. I looked at the screen to see that Reagan was calling me.

“Jesus, why are you calling me?” I complained when I answered the phone.

“Hey get up, I went to the closest news stand and bought all the magazines on the premiere. Avery and Katie are already up and we are heading to your room. I even bought you coffee on a weekend so you better get your ass up.” She said ignoring my annoyed tone.

“God fine, but it better be a really great cup of coffee or I’m kicking you all out”, I said while getting up to put on my robe.

A little later I heard a knock on my door and Avery laughing at something I’m assuming Katie said since Reagan was in the process of yelling at me to open the damn door or she would kick it down. Which to be honest would be funny as hell to see, seeing as the door was bigger than all of us put together.

“Hold your fucking horses I’m working on it.” I yelled while walking to the door. 

“About damn time jeez grandma. What did you do, crawl to the door?” She asked pushing past me with an arm full of magazines. Katie walked by with hers and Reagan’s cup of coffee and Avery handed me my cup as she walked by. Oh that smells amazing, I could feel the sleep finally fade away as I took my first sip. I walked into the living area to see that Reagan and Katie had taken over the couch and Avery had taken a seat in one of the two chairs, I sat down next to her to see what magazines Reagan had grabbed. It looked to be a little bit of everything to be honest.

“Holy fuck did you grab all of them?” I asked as I counted how many were on the table.

“I told you I grabbed all the ones that even hinted to the premiere or the after party.” She said looking at me over her coffee cup.

“I know that but did you really have to grab 13 different ones? They are all going to pretty much say the same thing, just in different ways. I’m sure all the journalists have thought up wonderful ways to bash us, do we really need to read them all?” I really didn’t want to deal with this after last night. I wanted to hibernate for a year if I’m at all truthful with myself.

“We aren’t reading each one separately, we are going to divvy them up and give a basic overview unless there are pictures in that case I want to see them.” Avery said from beside me. Katie looked up from her magazine, she was already reading with a frown.

“Not all the pictures are great.” She said. Avery just shrugged. I guess she didn’t give two shits if they were good or not. I picked up the closest magazine to me, which in hindsight wasn’t my best idea. I happened to grab one with the bitch interviewer from last night. She was not kind in anyway shape or form and I wanted to throw a brick at her face. Me? Violent? No, not ever. God I seriously hated people sometimes, especially those who don’t know what they are talking about, but hey there was a fantastic picture of Chris and Katie.

“The bitch from last night wrote the piece about me and Robert, but on a positive note there’s a great picture of Chris and Katie in this one.” I said holding it up so everyone could see.

By the end of the whole thing, I couldn’t tell if I was more pissed off or if I was just tired of people guessing about things they had no clue about, maybe a little of both, either way I was done. I leaned my head against the back of my chair and listened to the girls go on about different things from last night while I closed my eyes. It wasn’t too long after that, that Robert walked in to find us all still sitting where we hadn’t moved all day. 

“Have y’all even eaten today?” He asked as he leaned down to kiss my forehead. 

“Yeah we ordered some room service for lunch.” Reagan said as she looked up from whatever was on her phone.

“That was almost 4 hours ago.” He said walking into the room to put his stuff down.

“Seriously? I didn’t realize it was that late.” Avery said shocked.

“Tom and Chris are on their way back shouldn’t be much longer before Sebastian is back too, do y’all want to grab some dinner?” He asked everyone. I was game for whatever tonight. It was the last night before we had to all take planes to our respective destinations tomorrow. The girls all agreed and went back to their rooms to wait for the guys and change. I walked everyone out and said we would meet them in the lobby in about an hour.

“So how were all the press junkets?” I asked when I walked in the bedroom.

“Long, but good, how was whatever y’all were doing?” He asked.

“It could have been better. Reagan bought 13 different magazines about last night. I really didn’t need to look at them. The lovely interviewer from last night wrote a piece on us.” I said absent mindedly. 

“Let me guess, it wasn’t that great.” The look I gave him was enough of an answer. “Hey don’t let what she said get to you. You know that I love you and only you and nothing she says or anyone else for that matter is going to change that.” He said. He walked up to me and put his hand under my chin to lift my face so that I would look at him. “Do you understand?” I nodded. God I loved this man so much. I will be forever thankful that he’s in my life. I leaned up and kissed him. 

“Thank you, I needed that and I love you more than anything.” I said. He smiled down at me and told me to go get dressed. It was then I realized I was still in my robe. Jeez it was a wonder he found me attractive at all. 

We finished getting ready and headed to the lobby to meet everyone for dinner. Finally we get to try out the Tower Bar, not that I’m aiming to drink hard core after last night, but I wanted to try out the restaurant before we headed home. Dinner was fantastic and again the company was my favorite. We talked about last night and some of the things we read in the awful tabloids, for instance how Tom and Avery were probably the most gorgeous couple of 2015 and how you could tell Katie and Chris were newly engaged because they just radiated it. We brought up how the articles wanted to know any tidbit about who was on Sebastian’s arm last night, which made Reagan laugh, seriously people were nosey as fuck. 

Then someone had to bring up that stupid bent interviewer and what she said about me and Robert. Could we please just take a vote and never bring her up again. Katie still wanted to punch her in the nose and Avery was right on her coat tails with that one, Reagan thankfully kept her comments to herself, but if you looked at her you could tell she would cause the woman some serious harm if their paths ever crossed. Robert smiled down at me and gave me a kiss. We had already had our conversation and I knew he wasn’t going anywhere, but it still didn’t change the fact that the interviewer pissed a lot of people off, me included. 

When dinner was over we all headed to bed since we all had to head to the airport early the next morning. I wasn’t as upset about leaving Robert this time as I was last. I guess it was because not long from now I would be living in New York City in a house we owned together and I couldn’t wait.

Sunday morning came way too early, it’s not that I really cared, but dammit I was tired as shit. I still hadn’t been sleeping very well and I think it was starting to show, if Robert’s concerned looks were anything to go by. It wasn’t like I wasn’t trying, but every time I closed my eyes I was having nightmares and they were stupid ones at that. Hopefully sleeping in my own bed would help. Once Robert and I were done packing we took the elevator down to meet everyone in the lobby.

Avery looked like she wanted to kill someone while Tom just wrapped his arms around her. Katie and Chris were sitting on one of the couches whispering about god only knows what, but completely wrapped up in one another. Sebastian was holding Reagan’s hand while she had her head resting on his shoulder looking half dead to the world. I loved these people, some I had known for my whole life and other’s I had just met, but they were my family and I was thankful for each and every one of them. Yeah leave me alone I was feeling sentimental for some reason.

We all piled into someone’s rented SUV at this point it could be anyone of ours and I wouldn’t care, that’s how exhausted I am. The drive to the airport was quiet, but not in an uncomfortable sense I think it was everyone’s too damn tired to function quiet. We got through security and headed to grab a quick breakfast from there we would be going our separate ways. Most of our flights left around the same time, but from completely different gates which sucked ass! Avery’s plane was heading out in roughly 30 minutes and her gate was across the terminal, so she headed out first.

“Have a safe flight darlin’, I love you tons and will see you hopefully sooner rather than later.” I told her while I gave her a hug. “Please let me know when you get home.” She nodded and hugged me back. Then she went on to hug Katie and Reagan and told the guys bye, she saved Tom for last. I turned away to give them some privacy. All I knew was that he was heading out to do some filming and there was no telling when they would see each other again. I could see tears falling down her face when she walked away and Tom looked to be having issues keeping his emotions in check. 

Katie, Reagan and I’s flight was next and our gate wasn’t too far from where we were standing. I told Chris, Tom and Sebastian bye and then turned to Robert. He gave me the sweetest smile and wrapped me in his arms.

“I know if won’t be too long before I see you again, but it doesn’t ever make this easier. I’m looking forward to when our goodbyes are more like see you laters. I love you so much and can’t wait until I can come home to you every night or as close to.” I said while I buried my face in his chest. 

“I will be counting down the days until you are in my arms again. I love you so much Elizabeth Jade and the next time I see you it will be in our new home.” He whispered in my ear. 

“I love you too, Robert. We better head to our gate. Have a safe flight let me know when you land.” I said as I pulled away.

“I will baby. You better be safe too and I will let you know when I land as long as you promise to tell me when you do.” He said. I nodded my agreement and waited for Katie and Reagan to finish their goodbyes. Katie and Chris were smiling through their own tears and Reagan looked to be on the verge, but was holding back I think due to Sebastian whispering something in her ear as he leaned down to kiss her. 

We made it to our gate with a few minutes to spare and set our stuff down to wait for the lady to let us know when we could board. Honestly I wanted to crawl in my bed and die for a little while and we still had almost an 8 hour flight ahead of us. Soon we had boarded our plane and were buckled in safely. I slept for most of the flight. I woke up about an hour before we were scheduled to land in New Bern and couldn’t be happier that we were almost home. Katie was awake beside me reading a book while Reagan was looking over some magazine she had grabbed at breakfast.

Finally our captain announced that we were about to descend and to buckle up. It wasn’t long after that we exited our plane and heading to the front of the airport were mine and Reagan’s mom was waiting for us. God I couldn’t wait to get in bed, this trip, as fun as it was, had wiped me out and I needed sleep before I dealt with my supervisor and all his questions about my transfer the next morning. Mom thankfully dropped me off first, so I headed in to a very exuberant Hank and a not caring Sherlock. I fell into my nightly routine and headed upstairs to text Avery and Robert to let them know I was home safely. I set my bag down and decided laundry was definitely waiting until I got home from work tomorrow.

I crawled into bed and waited for the responses to my text messages before I went to sleep. Avery text me first letting me know she had just gotten home about an hour before me and was heading to bed. It wasn’t long after that Robert responded.

_**I’m glad you’re home safe love. I can’t wait until we finally have our home and I don’t have to send you texts to tell you goodnight. I love you so much sleep well. –RDJ** _

_**I love you too baby. Have a good night and I will talk to you tomorrow. –Liz** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At the time that I wrote this it hadn't been announced that RDJ was in Captain America 3 and Tom Hiddleston was still said to make an appearance in Averngers 2... That obviously wasn't the case lol but that's explanation for that whole fiasco in case any of you cared or were confused


	17. Things Around The Corner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A somewhat normal day in the office

Monday morning I woke up a little more rested but still not enough to make me want to get up. I finished my morning routine and headed out to pick Katie up. When she got in the car she looked at me like I was a ghost.

“Are you ok? You look horrible.” She said while buckling her seat belt.

“I feel horrible. I’m still not sleeping so great and I really wanted rest before having to deal with this transfer subject, which speaking of, did you decide?” I asked her without taking my eyes off the road.

“I did.” She said staring into her coffee like it held the answers to the universe.

“Are you going to tell me or keep me on pins and needles?” I asked.

“Yeah, I just don’t want you to get mad at me.” She said in a small voice.

“Katie, I would hope after all these years you would know I wouldn’t get mad over your answer to a decision like this. So what did you decided?” I asked looking over at her.

“Well I talked to Chris like you suggested and I’m putting in a transfer to LA. You know how you felt when we went to New York? Well that’s what it was like when we stepped out into LA I loved it and we talked about me moving in with him now. So I’m putting in my transfer this morning as well. I’m scared. I’ve never left a small town and then I’m leaving without my partner its nerve wracking.” She said taking a sip from her coffee to clear her throat. 

“Hey that’s great sweetie. You’ll do awesome in LA and you’ll be moving in with Chris so you’ll still have a partner. You’re just exchanging a work partner for a life partner; I think it’s a good trade.” I said smiling over at her. I think that helped settle her nerves a bit because she was smiling back at me. When we arrived at work we both handed our paperwork to our supervisor.

“What in the world are these?” He asked in his gruff manner.

“Transfers, I thought after all these years you would know what they are.” I replied sarcastically.

“Well yeah I know what they are, but y’all are splitting up?” He asked incredulously. I shrugged and Katie just nodded. “Is everything ok?” He asked. 

“Everything’s great, I just need something new and Katie, well Katie here wants the same thing, but it’s time for her to be closer to her fiancée.” I said looking down at her finger to make sure she was still wearing her ring, which thankfully she was so I didn’t look like an idiot.

“When did you get engaged and why am I just now finding out about it?” He almost yelled. He’s just a loud guy in general, but I think my ears were going to start bleeding. 

“I got engaged the Friday before we left and I didn’t announce because I was still getting used to the idea.” Katie said defensively. Our supervisor looked down at her hand and let out a whistle.

“Well Ms. Ahlborn that’s a nice rock you have there. I’m guessing that, that movie star of yours put that there.” He said with a smile. Katie just smiled and nodded.

“Are you done giving us the fifth degree, sir?” I asked grinning at him.

“Yeah, yeah y’all can go. I’ll put these in this afternoon. I should have a response by the end of the week.” He said waving his hand in a dismissive manner.  
The rest of the day and week went pretty much like that, slow and boring and it felt like it was dragging its feet.

I woke up Friday morning with a pit in my stomach. Something felt completely off and it made me feel on edge. I had received a text from both Avery and Reagan telling me to be careful today because they both felt like something bad was going to happen, which definitely didn’t make me feel any better. I knew Robert had made it to London safely and that it was really late where he was, but I text him anyways telling him to be safe and I loved him very much. 

By the time I picked Katie up, I felt like I was going to jump out of my skin. This day was going to suck if I was going to stay sitting on the edge all day. When we walked into the office our supervisor called me into his office. Katie nodded while she took our stuff to our desk. 

“Yes sir?” I asked when I walked in.

“We’ve been getting reports on your drug lord for the past week and we might have finally found his place of operation. I thought you and Ahlborn would want to be in on the bust later this afternoon.” He said looking up from his papers.

“Of course we would. Thank you for telling me sir.” I said. I really was thankful. I wanted this man behind bars for life and if I had the opportunity to help put him there, I was going to take it. I accepted the folder he handed me with all the information and headed out to tell Katie. I threw the report down on top of whatever she was looking at and received a glare for my actions. I just shrugged and gestured for her to read. When she was finished she looked at me with wide eyes.

“Are you ready to put this shit behind us before we leave?” I asked her.

“More than ever, did he invite us in?” She asked inclining her head to our supervisor’s door.

“Yeah that’s why he called me in there. It’s supposed to happen later this afternoon.” I said and she nodded. I needed this whole thing over with. I hated feeling like this guy was out on the streets terrorizing people. He needed to be gone before I left my town. 

Later that afternoon, Katie and I joined the rest of the team all suited up and ready to go. I still couldn’t shake the crap feeling I had been having, but I needed to do this. We headed out to the last place our drug lord had been, it was quiet and I hated when it was this quiet. Katie and I went with separate teams, she headed with the team taking the front and I was heading in the back with the second team. We were almost to the door when the building exploded. I was thrown back by the force of the explosion and could hear the sickening sound of skull hitting cement and knew I wasn’t walking away without a concussion.

Once I had a little bit of my focus back I was looking for Katie and praying she wasn’t in the building when it went up in flames. I was in the process of trying to get back on my feet and looking for my team and Katie that I didn’t notice the man coming up behind me. The next thing I felt was a sharp kick to the back of my neck, it was enough force that I saw black crawl back into my vision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's a short chapter bare with me I'm working on putting the next chapter since I left with you with a cliff hanger...


	18. Uh Oh

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are looking so great right now...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still don't own actors and have come to the saddening conclusion I never will... hmmm but I still own my characters so hey one positive thing

When I finally came back too, I was no longer outside the burning building, but was now tied to a rickety chair inside an abandoned warehouse.

I looked around to gain some idea of where I was, but came face to face with that one man I hoped I would never be alone with. That pit in my stomach was over taking all my senses now and was trying not to panic. Panicking would not fix my problem right now. I know this would sound a little paranoid, but back when Katie and I joined the force we went and had chips implanted in a back tooth in case of emergencies, here’s praying these guys were morons and didn’t think about things like that.

Thank all that is holy they hadn’t found it, I bit down hard to activated it and hoped to everything Katie remembered them and was looking for me now, that is if she’s still alive. The drug lord leered at me with that creepy smile of his and I could feel my insides turn. If this was how I was going to die; I was going to be extremely pissed. I had plans dammit and dying was not in any of those. I looked up and gave him the most defiant look I could seeing as the concussion I was sure I had was making me nauseous as hell. 

“So my little one, I’m going to show you why I’ve been on top for as long as I have.” He said in a voice that was a lot quieter than I thought.

“You can try, but I’m not going to let someone like you scare me.” I told him. That’s a lie he scares the pure tee fuck out of me, but there was no need to announce that to him. God please if they found me dead don’t let my mother see me or Robert. Oh my god Robert, I was never going to see him again. I can’t think like that, if I want to get out of this alive I had to think as positively as I could.

“Aw little one I wish you hadn’t have said that. Now I’ll have to get my guys to deal with you for a little while. Then we will see how you feel. When all this is said and done you will either; see my point of things and drop this ridiculous case or you’ll die here. Alone.” He said while walking behind me. I could feel him messing with my hair and it made me want to scream.

“You can do your best, but I’m not dropping the case against you and I don’t plan on dying in here either. So I suggest you come up with a new plan.” I said with all the bravado I could muster.

He walked away and I could hear the foot fall of at least two men and I steeled myself for what was about to happen.

My lungs felt like they were on fire, as much as the US Marshals prepare you for, they don’t make it a habit to get someone ready for water boarding. Every breath I took hurt, every slight shift of my skin over bone hurt; I just hurt in general, but I was not going to give these assholes a single bit of my dignity by yelling. 

The worst was that I knew they had a knife and when they went behind me I couldn’t prepare myself for the next sharp cut. I knew that I was just their plaything right now and that any moment things could get a whole lot worse. My concussion was still playing havoc with my thinking, which made trying to think up an escape completely impossible. I couldn’t tell you how long this went on for, but after every little session of whatever creative torture they served, that stupid fucker would make his presence known and ask if I was ready to bend to his will. 

Needless to say he either didn’t get an answer or he would get a nice mouthful of blood spat at him, which probably wasn’t smart on my part because a back hand to the face with a shit ton of rings fucking hurt. You’d think my sarcasm would take a backseat when I’m getting my ass handed to me, but nope I just had to open my big mouth. I could tell that night had fallen, but I couldn’t tell you if this was the first night or the fifth all I knew was that I didn’t want to die here. Somewhere along the way I passed out from the lack of food and pain that radiated through my body.

I was woken up by gun shots ringing through the air and yelling. I could feel someone beside me unwrapping my arms and then I could hear Katie, oh god thank you, she’s alive.

“We need a medic, right now!” I heard her yell. “Hey, hey we’ve got you, you’re safe now. I promise.” She whispered in my ear. I would not cry, I would walk out of here if I they would let me. I leaned against Katie with a relieved smile. I didn’t die, I was safe and I was going home. When we finally made it out of the warehouse they had me on a stretcher and on the way to the hospital. 

I must have passed out on the way to the hospital, because I woke up in a clean room with a tube shoved down my throat. I went into full panic mode. Thank god for my mom being beside me and keeping my hands away from my mouth, because I was seconds from ripping the thing out.

“Hey! Calm down, you’re ok. I’ll get the doctor and see if they’ll take the tube out.” She said softly. I nodded my consent and she left the room. Everything was a haze. What happened? How did I get here? Then I remembered that Katie had found me, I could almost shout praises. I had been so worried about her I’m so glad she’s alive. 

My mom came in followed by the doctor and Reagan. She looked as bad as I felt. Her eyes were red and she looked like she hadn’t slept in a week. A couple of nurses came in the following seconds and helped the doctor remove my tube. HOLY FUCK! That shit fucking hurt. They told me not to talk, but to listen.

“Okay Ms. Callahan, you’ve had a very trying experience and I’ll keep this as short as possible so your family can spend some time with you.” He said and looked at me to make sure I was paying attention. I nodded to let him know that I was hearing him loud and clear. 

“First off, when you came in we put you in a medical coma. We’ve had you under for about a week.” A fucking week! What the hell? “You came in with a severe concussion and we had to make sure that you didn’t cause yourself more harm the best way we could do that was to put you under and keep an eye on the swelling, thankfully that worked and you are as good as new in that department. Now for the rest of your injuries, you have 3 broken ribs and the rest are extremely bruised. You have a few cuts that will heal fine with no problem, but there were roughly a handful that we needed to stitch and are going to scar.” Great just what I needed some more scaring, god when I get my hands on those guys. “Your lungs are going to take a little while to heal, they have undergone way to much stress on them, but should heal nicely soon enough.”

I nodded my head and he said he would come back later to check on me. I looked to my mom and then Reagan they both looked like they could use the sleep. I started to talk, but ended up in a coughing fit. Reagan helped me drink some water and I told them to head home. They of course told me no.

“Look I need to talk to Katie. I need to know what happened.” I said in a strained voice. It felt so weird not recognizing my own voice. They nodded and said they would be in the waiting room with everyone else. Everyone else? That’s when I noticed the fucking flower shop in my room. “What’s with all the flowers?” I asked when they got up to leave.

“Well mom and grandma got you some and then dad had some ordered. Sebastian and I got you the sunflowers, there’s some from Avery and Tom and of course Katie and Chris, Robert got you like 3 bouquets and then the rest are from various cast members that we know and some we don’t.” Reagan said as she pointed out different sets of flowers. I could feel my eyes watering. Some of these people didn’t even know me and they sent me flowers. Robert! “Where’s Robert?” I asked with wide eyes.

“We sent him to your place to take a shower and get a nap. I’ll text him after I get Katie and Avery.” Reagan said while she ushered mom out of the room.

I sat back and waited for my two best friends to come join me. Avery looked like she had lost 5 pounds since the last time I saw her and Katie looked like a freaking ghost. I smiled at them and they came in and gave me a hug. I held Avery’s hand and looked at Katie. I was beyond grateful right now that she was alive.

“You found me.” I said when she and Avery sat down on either side of my bed.

“Yeah” She said sheepishly. “We were far enough away from the building when it blew that no one was seriously injured. Some of the guys have smoke damage and Rixton got shot in the arm. I went around back and I couldn’t find you. Someone said they thought you had already ran up front, but I knew you weren’t there. The only other option was that someone had taken you. It took me longer than I care to admit to remember our fucking chips. I’m sorry.” She said and hung her head.

“Hey there’s nothing to be sorry for. You got to me before they could kill me or something worse.” I said. God my throat was killing me. “Finish telling me what happened.”

“Liz when we finally found you I was scared to death and by the way I never want to have to tell Robert again that you are missing so please refrain from doing this in the near future, or ever. Anyways when I remembered our chips I told the guys in IT to track you down. It wasn’t the finding you part that took forever it was the getting a team together and trying to go in as stealthy as possible. We didn’t want to put you at an even greater risk. The drug lord and his guys are dead. I had a shot and I took it. It’s finally over.” She said with a small smile. 

I looked at Avery who was trying her best not to cry, she barely cries about anything so to see her trying that hard almost had me in tears. “Hey everything’s sunshine and rainbows from here on out”, I told her with a grin. She just shook her head at me. A few minutes later we heard running down the hall. What the fuck? Avery and Katie grinned at each other; apparently they knew something I didn’t. Right after that my door flew open to a disheveled half-awake Robert. The girls took that as a sign and made a quick and quiet exit. Robert walked up to my bed and I could tell he hadn’t been sleeping.

He ran his hands through my hair like he was still making sure I was there. I could feel his hands trembling and my heart broke. I never wanted to put him through something like this. I could hear him let out of sigh of relief before he leaned down and kissed me. I don’t think I could ever describe how I felt in that moment finally back in his arms, alive. It was then everything hit me at once and I broke down. I was safe and the bad guys were dead and I was with Robert and my family. Robert still hadn’t said a word, but he wrapped me up in his arms and rocked me back and forth.

“I’m so sorry” I whispered to him when I finally gathered my composure. The look he gave me would have been funny if the situation wasn’t so dire.

“There is absolutely nothing you need to be sorry for. When you didn’t answer your phone Friday night I started getting worried so I called Katie. It took hours before she finally answered which didn’t help my anxiety at all. When she told me you were missing I thought my heart would go into cardiac arrest. I was in London and couldn’t do anything. I felt completely helpless. I hated it, I took the next flight out, but baby you didn’t do anything to apologize for. I love you and I am over the moon that you are awake and talking. I had to sit here for a week and wonder if you were going to ever wake up and it was the worst week of my life.” He leaned against my bed. 

I scooted over and patted the spot beside me, if the nurses or doctor had a problem with it they could go suck on a lemon. “I’m sorry because I promised I would never let that man get his hands on me. I know I had no control of it, but I still feel like I let you down. I have never been as scared as I was during my time in that warehouse and you know what? It wasn’t even being there and knowing what was going to happen, that’s the kind of thing I expected when I joined the Marshals. It was the possibility of never seeing you again, of not being able to tell you I loved you one more time. I just kept praying that if I didn’t make it out that they didn’t let you see me and that if I did make it out alive, I wouldn’t take a second with you for granted.” I said quietly as I laid my head on his shoulder. 

I fell asleep just like that, wrapped in his warm arms. It wasn’t long before I woke up from a nightmare so vivid it made me physically sick. Robert called the nurses and they calmed me down enough to give me my next round of pain medication and Robert crawled back in the bed and held me. He kept whispering that I was safe now and that he wouldn’t let anything happen to me. I don’t remember much after that. I guess that’s a good thing.

The doctor said I would be in the hospital for another week so they could make sure I was healing properly. During that time I swear everyone under the sun came and visited me, but through it all Robert never left my side. Tom and Avery came in and I told Tom if he didn’t force her to sleep and eat when I was better I was going to take care of him and not in a good way. He nodded seriously, but smiled when I grinned up at him. 

Sebastian and Reagan came to visit a couple of times and Reagan dropped the bombshell that she was moving to LA with Katie. She decided that she needed to see more of the world and open a new clinic out there. I was ecstatic for her and Katie wouldn’t be alone so that put me at ease too. I knew that a good portion of why she was heading out there was to be closer to Sebastian, but I honestly couldn’t care less she was happy and if she wanted to move than more power to her. 

Katie and Chris stopped by towards the end of the week and Katie announced that our transfers went through, but we couldn’t leave until we both went under psych evals. Her for having shot the drug lord and me, well that was kind of obvious. I really wasn’t surprised and I would take any test they wanted me too, if it meant that I could finally move in to my new home with my other half. Robert had already shown me two places that he wanted me to look at and I couldn’t wait until I could walk through them and pick one out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wedding plans ensue in the next chapter


	19. Dancing in the Rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When it rains it pours ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer... I have no ownership of said actors/actresses or places in this story... I do however own my own characters

I was still having nightmares, but they were finally starting to ease and with perfect timing too. I could finally go home! It felt like forever before my discharge papers went through, but I was going to be sleeping in my own bed tonight, so not too much complaint there. Robert was going to stay with me through the weekend and then he had to head back to London to finish filming. I hated the idea of him leaving, but he said he would be back mid-June which was only a month and a half away. The shit thing about it all was that I couldn’t go back to work until the end of June and even then I was pretty much going to be on desk duty until I moved in July.

Monday came way to fast and I went with Robert to the airport. Saying goodbye was getting really old, really fast. I couldn’t wait to see him in June because then he would have a nice few months off and we could start moving all my shit into our new home. Problem with that was picking one out and we couldn’t do that until July. God July get here already. May drug by, but it gave me plenty of time to start helping Katie with her wedding plans. 

She and Chris had decided on a small affair, which suited them. They weren’t big flashy people and they weren’t going to put on some circus of a show. Katie had chosen me as her maid of honor and Avery and Reagan as her two bridesmaids, Chis picked his brother as best man with Sebastian and Anthony filling in as his groomsmen. See small and simple it was going to be perfect. Katie passed her psych eval with flying colors, which I knew she would. I passed mine, sort of, they wanted to me to be completely free of any nightmares involving that night before they ‘ok’ me for any field ops. Great, just freaking great, who knew when that was going to happen?

It was June 12th and I still didn’t know exactly when Robert would be flying in. He wanted to keep it a secret, he was going to give me a serious ulcer. It had been raining all day which in the summer isn’t really that bad. I decided to take some of Katie’s wedding plans and work on them outside on the porch swing. Hank followed me out and lay under the swing so I rested one of my feet on his fur to pet him absent mindedly while I went through the latest ideas Katie was debating on. 

They had finally set a date for next freaking month! July 4th they were getting married on July freaking 4th. I mean it’s a good thing I can’t go back to work for a while, gives me plenty of time to work on wedding plans while she finishes up her last few days with the New Bern dept. With the wedding being next month and it being such a small get together they went with a destination wedding. Oh jeez great now I had to figure out that while moving, I think my best friend is giving me grief for moving up north and not to the west coast with her. 

I was so wrapped up in my own thoughts I didn’t feel Hank move and head to the screen door of the porch. I heard the door creak open and I grabbed my gun and pointed. So I was a little skittish now, it was bound to happen. Robert stood with his hands in the air wearing his cocky little smirk and Hank by his side. It was getting to be too much of a habit, me pulling my gun out on him. I put my gun down and stood up to give him a hug.

“You’re all wet.” I said when I moved away to let him sit.

“Well yeah it’s raining what do you expect?” He said laughing. I just shrugged and sat beside him. “Still working on wedding plans I see.” 

“Yeah its next month and I can’t work. What else am I supposed to do? Katie would lose her damn mind if she had to do this by herself.” I said looking down at all the folders and papers. He just laughed and kissed me. 

“Hey the rain has cleared up want to take a walk with me. I need to stretch my legs after that flight.” He stood up and offered me his hand.

“I wish you would have told me you were flying in today. I would have gone and picked you up.” I said stepping off the porch. He just smiled and laced our fingers together.

The walk to Union Point Park was quiet as we listened to all the crickets and frogs sing. I loved it here on nights like this. It wasn’t crowded or loud, it just was. There was no one to bother us; we had the whole place to ourselves. We walked around the park for a little while until we felt the first drops indicating that it was going to rain again. Running was not happening tonight, if the sky decided it wanted to rain on me then fuck it, it could rain on me. The summer night was still warm and the rain would feel heavenly. 

We were halfway home when the clouds opened up and dumped water on us. I know I looked like a soaked kitten, but I ran out into the center of the road and threw my arms out and spun in circles. I hadn’t done this since I was a kid and after the shit I’ve been through I needed to remember the small things in life. I looked over to see Robert smiling and laughing. I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to have a man like him in my life. Soon he joined me in the rain and we danced like there wasn’t a care in the world.

I don’t know how long we danced in the rain, but I do know that it was perfect. Robert kissed me and then leaned down to whisper in my ear.

“Marry me.” I pulled back to look him in the eyes. “I’m serious, marry me. I had this whole speech prepared and was going to do it later this week with all our friends and family, but right here in this moment I realized I don’t want to wait. When you went missing I thought I would never get the opportunity to ask you, and now I don’t want to waste another second. Elizabeth Jade you are the light of my life and I want to spend the rest of it with you. Will you please marry me?” 

I could feel my tears running down my face and mixing in with the rain as I nodded my head yes. Robert let out a triumphant yell and picked me up to spin me around, the rain was still falling around us, but I didn’t even notice it anymore. All that mattered was this man wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. When we finally got home, the rain was down to a drizzle so I let Hank out the back, poor guy had been on the porch the whole time we were out. I wondered where Robert went.

I didn’t have to wonder long because when I walked in the kitchen to make something to drink he was sitting at the bar with a ring box from Harry Winston sitting in front of him.

“I know I already asked, but it wouldn’t be official until you accept this.” He said smiling at me. 

“Are you going to get down on one knee and put it on me?” I asked with a cheeky grin.

The smarmy little shit did just that. He got down on one knee right there in the middle of my kitchen. When he opened the box I couldn’t help but gasp, the ring was absolutely stunning. It was a simple antiqued style setting with a haloed cushion cut center stone that had to weigh at about 2.5 carats with micro pave diamonds in the thin band. I have a tiny hand that thing is going to definitely draw some attention. He took my shaking hand and placed the ring on my left ring finger; he then flipped my hand over and kissed my palm. I couldn’t believe it, I mean I know he asked and of course I said yes, but holy shit I was officially engaged.

I was going to take a picture of just the ring and send it to the girls as a way of announcing it, but Robert grabbed me, put his arm around waist and put my left hand on his chest, he then took a picture of the both of us smiling. I looked at the picture and instantly loved it, it was our first picture we had taken together and it was the first picture of us engaged, you could see the ring perfectly. So I sent a group text to Avery, Katie and Reagan and waited to see who would notice first. 

While I waited for them to text me back I set about making us something for dinner, I hadn’t ate anything since breakfast, but I wasn’t stupid enough to tell Robert that. I heard my phone buzz and looked down to see who had messaged first.

_**OMG y’all look super cute –Ave** _

I just rolled my eyes, wait for it.

_**OMG! I mean seriously OMG is that what I think it is?!?! –Ave** _

_**Took you long enough –Liz** _

_**Shut up I was busy then I saw it out of the corner of my eye. OMG y’all are engaged? Tell me everything I need every detail –Ave** _

_**Jeez chill lol I will tell you all tomorrow sometime. He just got here and it just happened not even an hour ago lol –Liz** _

_**Okay, okay I’ll be patient, but I better get a call or a very long text tomorrow and btw babe congratulations seriously I’m so very happy for you both. Love you tons –Ave** _

_**Aww thanks sweetie. I will def. call you tomorrow promise and I love you too –Liz** _

It wasn’t horribly late, but I wasn’t expecting loud banging on my door, really? They couldn’t just call or text like a normal person.

“Maybe that was a bad idea.” I said looking at Robert who was laughing.

I left him in the kitchen, while I went to answer the door. Reagan and Katie were standing right next to each other looking like they had run a marathon. Again I say really?  
“You do realize you both own a key to this house.” I said as I moved out of the way to let them in.

“We didn’t think about it when we left the house. Let me see!” Reagan demanded as soon as she had her breathing under control. “Is he still here?” She asked.

“Yeah he’s in the kitchen.” She gave me a kiss on my cheek and then headed to the kitchen.

I turned to look at Katie who was grinning from ear to ear. “Want to see?” I asked her smiling.

“Of course, I figured I’d let Reagan gush being the sister and all. Oh my Liz that is gorgeous.” She breathed out when I showed her my hand.

When she was done looking we went into the kitchen. Reagan was smiling and congratulating Robert on taking forever. Come on guys we’ve only been dating a handful of months; it’s really a surprise he did it this early to be honest. Reagan walked over and hugged me again and congratulated me before she took off with Katie on her heels. 

“I swear I have the strangest family and friends.” I said laughing. Robert didn’t say anything, but walked around the counter to wrap me up in his arms.

“I love you, the future Mrs. Downey.” He whispered after kissing the soft spot under my ear.

I shivered and wrapped my arms around his shoulders. “I love you too. You have made everything in my life so much better and I can’t wait to spend the rest of it with you, by your side.” 

We finished making dinner together and sat down at the bar.

“So have Katie and Chris picked their destination yet?” He asked after he took a sip of his wine.

“Yeah they picked this island right off of India called Maldives, the actual place that they are holding the ceremony is called Angsana Velavaru. It’s a gorgeous place and I can’t wait to go there. The Indian Ocean is so different than the Atlantic.” I said finishing up my dinner. 

“I’ve never been, so it will be new to the both of us.” He said getting up to put the dishes in the sink. 

After dinner we went to bed, I know Robert was jetlagged like crazy and my body was still healing from all the shit it went through last month. I went to sleep with a smile on my face; I couldn’t believe how lucky I was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What a yay chapter I love yay chapters... either there will be another visuals chapter or an actual chapter we will see


	20. Wedding Shopping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wedding planning, shopping all the fun stuffs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still don't own actors or places what a bummer...  
> I do own my characters though yay me

I just want to reiterate that it is June and to be exact June 13th and Katie is getting married July 4th! How the fuck sticks was I going to pull this off? Seriously?!? Thankfully she had decided on her color scheme which was a great start, it was going to be blues, greens, and tan, perfect for a beach island wedding. I was beyond stressed and Robert just thought it was funny. He won’t think it’s funny when he’s helping me plan ours. I told him this and he still laughed, ok just you wait and see. Today was the day we had picked to go with Katie to help her find her wedding dress. I didn’t know when Robert would be in so I couldn’t very well work around it, but seeing as he was off of filming for the next couple of months a few hours out of today wouldn’t kill him.

“Hey babe?” I said walking out of the bathroom while putting my earrings in.

“Yeah?” I could hear him yelling from downstairs.

“I’m about to head out with Katie and Reagan, do you need anything while I’m out?” I asked walking down the stairs.

“No not that I can think of, just you back safely.” He grabbed me by the waist and gave me a deep kiss. I couldn’t help, but smile. “Have fun; try not to kill Reagan or Katie for that matter.”

“I’m not that bad. I’m just on a tight schedule and she needs to pick bridesmaids dresses out so I can let Avery know.” I said in a whirlwind.

“Hey calm down, everything will go smoothly, just enjoy being out with the girls. I love you.” He said with a grin.

“I love you too and I will text you if things run later than we think.” I said while grabbing my keys from the stand by the door. 

Soon I was on my way to pick up Reagan and Katie. Hopefully we would get lucky and find everything today, but there was honestly no telling. The first shop we hit, we didn’t have any luck. It wasn’t until we hit our third store that we found THE dress. As soon as Katie put it on I thought I would burst into tears. She looked stunning; the dress was made of a chiffon material that screamed Greek goddess. It had a beaded belt that cinched beautifully around her small waist, the neckline hit almost to that belt and the straps went around showcasing the most beautifully designed back that I have ever laid eyes on.

The back of the dress I don’t think I could even do it justice in describing. From the top of the shoulders to her lower back, it was made of a type of see through material, but down around her shoulders and spine there were beads sewn in to look like flowers. The bead-work was stunning and you could tell Katie felt like a goddess in the dress. I couldn’t wait until Chris saw her in it.

“Katie you look gorgeous.” I said when she turned around to look at us. Reagan nodded her head. I think she was still in the moment and hadn’t found her words yet. I just giggled at her.

“You think? It’s not too much?” She asked with some concern.

“God no and Avery would say the same thing if she were here. Now go buy that dress it was meant for you.” I said shooing her away to go change and pay for her dress.

After checking out and having her dress bagged we headed to our last store, let’s hope we find the bridesmaid’s dresses here. Katie had already decided that each girl would wear a different shade of green or blue. I would be in a mint green, while Avery would be in turquoise and then Reagan would be wearing a dark blue. We hit jack pot when we walked into the next store, because the dress Katie wanted was hanging on a mannequin at the front. 

I loved the dress; it was cute and flowy and would look perfect with how Katie wanted her wedding. The dress hit above the knees and was made of silk chiffon. It had a twisted waistband with a v neckline that would look great on all three of us. I’m not very gifted in the boobs department while Avery and Reagan are, so the way the top of the dress was made would flatter all of us, thank god. Reagan and I went ahead a put our orders in while I texted Avery.

_**Hey Katie picked out the dresses. Do you need me to go ahead and order yours or are you going to take care of it your way? –Liz** _

_**Just send me all the information I need and I’ll order it up here, just in case I need to have anything altered. Thanks doll, btw I haven’t forgotten about last night so you better call me tonight. –Ave** _

_**I know I know I’m trying to finish getting all this together. Who gets married this fast? –Liz** _

_**I guess when you know you know –Ave** _

_**Yeah you’re right I’m just stressed out is all –Liz** _

_**It will go off without a hitch; you’ve always been good at planning things –Ave** _

_**Weddings are a bit different, love -Liz** _

I got all the information I needed to send to Avery so she could order her dress as we paid for ours. Soon we were in the car and I was on my way to drop the girls off at their place. I wonder what Reagan was going to do with the house when she moved. For that matter what was I going to do with mine? I think I’ll keep mine as a vacation place, to get away from the hustle and bustle of New York. I got home not long after and called Avery.

“Hi”, I said as soon as I heard her pick up. 

“Hello Liz”, I heard Tom’s deep accent roll over the phone. Really glad I didn’t say anything stupid this time. 

“Hello Tom is Avery around she’s been demanding I call all day.” I said while putting my dress in the closet downstairs.

“She is, but I hear congratulations are in order.” He said and I could hear the smile in his voice. 

“Well thank you dear, I hope that everything is going well with the two of you.” Hey if he wanted to shoot the breeze whatever, the guy is pretty freaking awesome.

“We are doing absolutely lovely.” I’ll never get over how British men talk. I could hear Avery ask who Tom was talking to. He must have been playing keep away with her because I’m sure I heard her say something along the lines of ‘now I understand why Liz would get so mad when I did this’. Man that shit would piss me off, it’s not fair that I’m short and she’s a giant. Finally I heard her voice on the other end.

“So flirting with my man I hear.” She said a little breathless. I bet she was jumping up and down like I used to do.

“He started it.” I stated with a laugh. Robert was sitting in the living room on his tablet. He looked up and smiled when I came in. I don’t think I would ever get used to him just being there. It was surreal how my life was turning out. I sat down beside him while Avery talked to Tom about something.

“So want to tell me about that picture?” She asked when her attention turned back to our phone conversation.

“I’m engaged?” I said questioningly hoping that would answer her question. Robert just looked at me and laughed.

“No shit Sherlock, I gathered that all by my little lonesome thank you very much.” She said with sarcasm. I couldn’t help but laugh at her. I excused myself to go get something to drink. 

“Um… We went for a walk at Union Point; it started raining on us so I said fuck it and started dancing. He joined me and then asked me to marry him. It wasn’t some big spectacle it was just the two of us. He said he was going to do it later in the week with everyone there, but I guess he changed his mind. When we got back home I left him to go let Hank out when I got back in the kitchen he was sitting there with the ring box. I asked him jokingly if he was going to get down on one knee, the little shit did. That’s it nothing more to say. It was short, sweet and the best night of my life all wrapped in one.” I said with a smile on my face.

I could hear Avery sniffling a little across the phone. “Are you crying? You never cry.” 

“No I’m sick.” She said quietly. I couldn’t believe it, Avery never cried. “Ok I lied, I cried a little, it’s just after everything you’ve been through I’m really happy for you. You’ve just been so happy with him and he treats you so well. I was really scared when I got the call from Katie about you. I thought I would never see you again and then they found you and Robert, well Robert broke down and cried. It was then I realized how much he loves you, I mean I knew that he loved you, but after watching him break down in relief, a blind man would have seen how much you mean to him.” I could feel myself crying at that point and didn’t give two shits who saw me.

“Why didn’t you say anything before now?” I asked.

“Well I didn’t think it was really anything I needed to say while he was with you and he never left your side in the hospital and then I sort of forgot until now.” She responded slightly sheepish.

“Thank you for telling me. I hear that Tom has finally come to visit.” I said changing the subject. I walked back into the living room with my drink and curled up next to Robert. I leaned over to see that he was reading a new script.

“Oh yeah he got in last night, so double good news, but he’s only here until Friday. I’m happy he’s here I just hate when he leaves.” I understood that completely. 

“He’s going to the wedding right?” I asked tuning back into our conversation. I had been reading over Robert’s shoulder to see what he was thinking of doing next.

“Yeah of course, he said he wouldn’t miss it for the world, but we’re flying in separately and then after the weekend we’re flying out separately too.” She said sadly.

“Hey don’t think about it just go spend your time with him now. I’ll talk to you later ok? Love you tons.” We said our goodbyes and I looked over at Robert.

“You know I love you more than anything in this world right?” I said leaning into him.

“I know baby and I love you more.” He said lying his head on top of mine.

“How many scripts do you have coming in?” I asked gesturing to his tablet.

“About 5, one is for Captain America 3. I’m definitely leaning towards doing that one. I’m giving you a trade secret here, so keep it quiet.” He said looking at me seriously, but then started cracking up. 

“Are you going to keep laughing or are you going to tell me?” I asked when I finally stopped laughing at him.

“Oh, yeah, they are asking me to reprise my role as Iron Man so they can pit him against Captain America. They are going the Civil War route.” He said looking over at me and then proceeded to start laughing again. I knew it was at my facial expression. I could feel my jaw hit the ground when he said that. 

“WHAT!!! They can’t do that! I veto this decision. Tell Joss we need to have a come to Jesus meeting.” I said. 

“You are very against this aren’t you?” He asked still laughing.

“Yes I am! What am I going to do with my life now?” I said throwing my hand over my heart. Robert just rolled his eyes at me and went back to reading. “I think you should take it.” I told him.

He looked up at me, “You think?” I nodded. 

“I love your role as Tony it’s one of my favorites, so even if they are going to pit him against Steve I think it will be a great film. Joss is magical.” I said smiling.

“I’ll tell him you said that.” He kissed my forehead.

“I’d tell him myself, but then I might go on a rampage about this Civil War bullshit.” I said in mock outrage. He just sighed and went back to reading. 

The rest of the month consisted of just that, him reading roles, dinner, planning for Katie’s wedding, some sex was thrown in there, because holy hell having sex with that man was like a spiritual experience, just sayin’.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think the next chapter will be a visuals one again to get you ready for the wedding =)


	21. Visuals Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> These visuals consist of  
>  Proposal Dinner  
>  Movie Premier  
>  Engagement Rings  
>  Robert's Home
> 
> And I'm going ahead and putting in all the wedding stuff so you can see what's going on in the next chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own any of the actual visuals just used them for inspiration

_**Elizabeth** _ **"Liz"**

**Friday Night Proposal**

_[Outfit](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QZ1FYVzI1eHZkaEk/view?usp=sharing) (but different colors)_   **&  ** _[Shoes](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QemRJV1ZlUTRRdG8/view?usp=sharing)_

**Movie Premier**

_[Hair](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QaUdHNVZoak5URzQ/view?usp=sharing) [Dress](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6Qa3dQMXdUalVPaWs/view?usp=sharing) (Black Lace, Lime Green base)_

**Engagement**

_[THE RING](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QcVhKV1RwUzc4OTA/view?usp=sharing) _

 

 

**_Katherine "Katie"_ **

**Friday Night Proposal**

_[Outift](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QMnhxbjhXTVhDM0k/view?usp=sharing) [Shoes](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QQkZvQXFVNHBjcTg/view?usp=sharing)_

_[THE RING](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QSHVMT3REN3h3X1E/view?usp=sharing) _

 

**Movie Premier**

_[Dress](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6Qd0tucGFqdlVPNGM/view?usp=sharing) [Shoes](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QN3daenR4anVReWM/view?usp=sharing)_

 

 

**_Avery "Ave"_ **

**Friday Night Proposal**

_[Outfit](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QTHBoSmxuWGhNVnc/view?usp=sharing) [Shoes](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QUHZLUFhpUzAyTlU/view?usp=sharing)_

**Movie Premier**

_[Dress Front](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QcklDNkcycnJuT2M/view?usp=sharing) [Dress Back](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QQmhBOEZMcTNHYWs/view?usp=sharing) [Hair](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QRzN1ZU1zMHEyTm8/view?usp=sharing) [Shoes](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QbVVkV0htQndNanc/view?usp=sharing)_

 

 

**_Reagan_ **

**Friday Night Proposal**

_[Outfit](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QOEhwdmN2UUltVDQ/view?usp=sharing) [Shoes](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QR0xzR092NjhDSmM/view?usp=sharing)_

**Movie Premier**

_[Dress](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QdHN6dUc2NkZsZDQ/view?usp=sharing) [Shoes](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QTkI0RFRYTWhqVnM/view?usp=sharing)_

 

 

**_Robert's Home_ **

_[Inside & Out](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QelVvclpOcGdUaFU/view?usp=sharing) _

**_Movie Premier Hotel_ **

_[Outside](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QXzVVd3V0V2dXWUk/view?usp=sharing) _

 

 

** _All the Wedding Things!!!!_ **

_[Resort 1](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QODlOQmhPY1Q2aGs/view?usp=sharing) [Resort 2](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QNXhsZ2lzdWRkcVk/view?usp=sharing) [Resort 3](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QaVlXM1R6OVlja1E/view?usp=sharing) [Resort 4](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QazVadVdCQ0UyTlE/view?usp=sharing)_

_[Venue 1](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QRlhUaGRkVm5Pakk/view?usp=sharing) [Venue 2](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QY3ozZ09JV2hITTQ/view?usp=sharing)_

_[Color Scheme](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QQ3JmM0duOFNreEE/view?usp=sharing) _

 

_[Bridesmaid Dresses](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QZ3QzVmEwZU0yam8/view?usp=sharing) _

_[THE DRESS Front](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QZ1NPZmd4UmVnZEU/view?usp=sharing) [THE DRESS Back](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mtTdftbm6QOFZMZGNPc2laS2s/view?usp=sharing)_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A wedding is next yay!!!


	22. Island Bound

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Travel days suck to begin with 18 hour plane rides it's on a whole other level, but it's needed. Mostly travel, getting settled and some fun times before the wedding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own, or ever will own, these actors and places, but I would love to go to this resort. IT'S REAL so maybe one day =)

Before we knew it the week of July 4th was upon us. From what we had read the flight from New Bern to Maldives was a little over 18 hours. I repeat 18 hours on a plane! Katie, Chris and Reagan headed out on Wednesday night and Sebastian would be meeting them there since he was flying from LA which would take even longer. Robert and I were leaving Thursday morning, like Avery who was leaving from New York; Tom would be flying out later since he was back in London, lucky bastard.

I really needed to stop planning to fly so early in the morning. I was seriously regretting not flying out last night like the rest of our group. When we finally got settled in for the long flight Robert decided now would be a good time to talk about our wedding.

“So since we have 18 hours want to talk about a date?” He asked.

“I don’t know I honestly was still getting used to the fact that I’m engaged to the one and only Robert Downey Jr.” I said giggling. “No but seriously I hadn’t thought about it. Have you thought of a date?” 

“How about New Year’s Eve at midnight, we could ring in the New Year married.” He said after a little while of thinking.

“You mean as in this New Year’s Eve, like the one that’s 4 months away?” I asked feeling the panic rising.

“Liz I don’t want to waste another minute not married to you. I’ll be with you to help in any way possible with the wedding plans, but I hate even waiting that long.” He said looking me in the eyes. Really, it was impossible to say no to this man. 

“You thought I was crazy stressed with Katie’s you just wait; you’ll regret ever proposing to me.” I said to him with complete seriousness. 

“Is that a yes then?” He asked grinning.

“Yes, that’s a yes, but I might be crazy by the end of it.” I said growling.

The rest of the plane ride was spent talking about little details for the wedding. We decided to go with the whole New Year’s Eve theme with a little bit of Old Hollywood, so black and gold with a touch of champagne would be our colors. I can’t believe I agreed to get married in 4 months, I swear I don’t know who was going to kill me first Katie, Reagan or my mom. About half way through the flight I decided to take a nap, hoping it would make the 18 hours pass faster. Thankfully when I woke up there was only about an hour left; Robert was already awake and reading over something on his tablet. 

“Good evening sweetheart.” He said when he felt me shift beside him.

“Ugh, what time is it?” I said in a half groan. I hated sleeping on planes.

“Around 9pm, we should be preparing to land soon.” He said looking up from whatever he was reading.

“Thank god I am so sick of being in this plane.” I said stretching my arms above my head. 

It wasn’t long before we heard the Captain over the intercom telling everyone to buckle up as we were preparing to land. I couldn’t wait to actually see the island and to get to the resort so I could sleep. 

As soon as I stepped out of the plane and onto the white sandy beaches I thought I had arrived in heaven. The place was more than words can describe. The water was so blue; I had never seen water this blue before. Katie and Chris were standing on the beach waiting for us to arrive. They looked so happy and relaxed. I couldn’t believe one of my best friends was finally getting married. When we reached them I gave both a hug.

“Where’s everyone else?” I asked we started walking to the boat that would take us to our bungalows.

“Well Reagan and Sebastian are out on the deck in front of their room; Tom arrived about 30 minutes ago so Avery is with him. Y’all are the last to fly in.” Katie said looking back at me. The boat ride to our places was about 10 minutes long, but it was plenty of time to see where we would be staying.

Of course Avery wouldn’t be seen for the remainder of the night if Tom just got in and I know if our flight was long hers wasn’t much better. The two story bungalows were placed on stilted decks above the water in two rows facing one another. When we walked onto the main deck I could see Reagan and Sebastian sitting outside on the top story of their bungalow swinging their legs. Reagan beamed at me and stood up to head downstairs. It wasn’t long before I had my arms full of my sister. 

“Really?” I yelled laughing. “You’re taller than me chick, you almost knocked me over.” Which would have been true if Robert hadn’t been behind me to put a steadying hand on my back we both would be a sprawling mess on the deck. 

“What the hell is up with all this racket?” I heard someone grumble behind me. When I turned around Avery was leaning against the door to hers and Tom’s place, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

“You can blame that shit on Reagan.” I said walking over to give Avery a hug. 

“Reagan chill, I have not had enough sleep for this shit.” Avery said over my shoulder as she returned my hug.

I caught Reagan flip Avery off from the corner of my eye before she told everyone she was heading to bed; she had a smile on her face so I knew she wasn’t mad. 

“I would really like to get some sleep too. That plane was not terribly comfortable.” I said looking at Avery. “I’m assuming you’re trip wasn’t very restful either.” If looks could kill I would definitely be dead where I stood.

“Who in fuck’s name brings a screaming child on a damn plane to a tropical island? I swear to all that is holy if I see them anywhere on this island I might kill them.” Avery said before she huffed and walked back into her bungalow, to go back to sleep I presume.

“Well ok then, remind me to let her sleep in tomorrow.” I said following Katie and Chris to where Robert and I would be staying for the weekend.

Ok, really, I needed to move here, this place was a dream! Places like this don’t exist in real life. We walked in and set our luggage down so we could wander around the bungalow. There was a little kitchen at one end with the living room next to it both facing the huge back deck. We walked out of the sliding glass door that took up the whole wall onto the deck. Outside there was a sitting area off to one side, on the other side was a long stretch of deck that lead to a bed, yes a bed, in the middle of the water. At the main walk of the big deck was a hot tub placed in front of a massive, endless pool that ran into the Indian Ocean. That didn’t even include the huge, open top floor deck that held another bed under an open roof looking thing, with a few chairs sporadically placed. 

We made our way back inside so we could find the bedroom and go to bed. The next couple of days were going to be busy, with fun, but still busy. Our Friday was going to consist of our little group enjoying everything this little island has to offer, so jet skis, boats, the food, just everything. Then later that night would be rehearsal and dinner and then waiting for the rest of Katie and Chris’s guest to arrive. Saturday we would be separating, girls doing the spa thing and the guys, well who knew what they were going to be doing, that was a guy thing, then that night would be the actual wedding. 

Plans went how they were planned thank god. Friday was full of fun and adventure and just plain childish behavior. If you’re on a tropical island you are going to run and jump in crystal blue water, sorry that’s just how it goes, it doesn’t matter how old you are or what you’re there for. Rehearsal went on without a hitch and dinner was even better, soon we were all roaming around the beach waiting for the final guests to arrive. Jeez what is with planes taking forever?

Once everyone was on the island, we took the boat to our set of bungalows and showed them where they would be staying. I swear, a maid of honors, duties are never done. I spent most of the night making sure everyone was comfortable and finishing any last minute things for Katie that I could manage. Avery was behind me helping me with anything she could, while Reagan kept Katie from having mini breakdown, from dealing with family. Yeah you just got to love family. Just enjoy the damn trip and be happy for your child, damn!

When everything finally settled down, I trudged my way back to my little bungalow to cuddle with Robert. When I walked in he was standing in the living room holding a glass of wine in each hand and smiling softly at me.

“I know you are beyond tired, but I just wanted a little time with you before we headed to bed.” He said when I walked up to him.

“Let’s go sit outside.” I said tilting my head to indicate the deck, while I took one of the glasses from him and replaced it with my hand. He leaned down and kissed me.

As stressful as this whole process has been I wouldn’t trade it for the world. The island was beautiful, I was spending it not only with the man I loved, but my best friends and family and tomorrow was a really exciting day. I couldn’t wait to see how Chris reacted to Katie walking down the aisle. I knew how they felt about each other, but there was something about watching the groom sees the bride for the first time that just made me want to savor the whole moment. 

Robert and I walked hand in hand to the end of the deck where the bed was over the water and laid down to enjoy our wine and the wonderful breeze.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Wedding will be next there was just no where for me to break this up without making it a mile long


	23. The Wedding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katie and Chris's Wedding is finally here!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No ownership of actors or places just my characters... which i'm happy to see getting married haaa!!!

I guess we feel asleep out there because the next thing I knew it was morning and I could hear the phone in the bungalow screeching. I stood up and stretched before I reached over and shook Robert awake. Once he was awake enough to function I walked inside to see who was calling. I looked down to see that I had a handful of missed calls and texts on my own phone before picking up the phone on the wall.

“Hello?” I asked still groggy.

“Thank god.” I heard Avery’s panicked voice.

“What’s up with you?” I asked.

“Well we’ve been trying to get up with you for the past hour and you weren’t answering your phone and we thought maybe you like fell over the deck or something.” She said while she finally got her breathing under control.

“Really?” I asked incredulously. “Fell over the deck? That’s the best y’all have this morning?”

“Hush, I’m not awake for this anymore than you are, but Katie called and she woke up super early and has probably had 5 times too many cups of coffee and Reagan is being a pain like normal in the morning. Would you just get dressed and join me at Katie’s?” She said.

“Yeah give me a few and I’ll see you there.” I looked over at Robert who had finally made it back inside.

“What was that about?” He said leaning on the door frame of open back door.

“Who knows, all I know is that I need to get over to Katie’s and deal with whatever is going on. Hopefully I’ll see you before the wedding tonight, if not I love you and have a great day with the guys.” I said while giving him a kiss. I ran to the room to throw on something and head over to Katie’s.

“Okay what in god’s name is everyone’s issue this morning?” I said when I walked into Katie’s bungalow 10 minutes later. What I walked into was not what I was expecting, what I thought was going to be a breakdown and freak outs was actually the exact opposite. Katie was grinning from ear to ear and Reagan was fighting not to break down into a fit of giggles while Avery was leaning against the wall smiling. “Okay, but seriously now I’m confused and getting concerned.” I said looking from one to the other.

“It was Katie’s idea.” Reagan put in not so helpfully.

“What?” I asked. It’s really too early to be playing guessing games. Katie grinned at me.

“Well we have a whole day planned of relaxing and spa treatments, but before that I wanted to have a mini celebration as a thank you for everything you’ve done.” She said looking at my dumbfounded face. “If it wasn’t for you running into Robert back in January we wouldn’t all be as happy as we are now and if you hadn’t have taken all your time and energy to pretty much plan out this wedding it wouldn’t be as beautiful as I know it’s going to be.” I didn’t know what to say as Reagan handed me a glass of champagne. 

They all stood around me with a glass in each of their hands extended upward waiting on me, “To Liz”, they said together. I couldn’t help the grin that was threatening to split my face in two. 

“Could y’all not have thought up a better excuse to get me over here faster?” I asked after we sat down. 

“Actually I wasn’t lying when I said that Katie had been up for forever and had drunk way too much coffee.” Avery said gesturing to how Katie had yet to stop moving.

“Katie”, I yelled to get her attention. “Why in hell’s name did you drink so much coffee on your wedding day?” She had enough grace to blush before she shrugged.

“I couldn’t sleep; I’m nervous as all get out and thought it would help.” She said. 

“How about we head to the main island and get some food in you before we head to the spa.” I suggested while standing up.

The day only went up from there. Breakfast was amazing and the spa, oh my god, I needed a spa day like this every day of the week, it was wonderful. After spa time we walked around the beach and just enjoyed the time we had before having to get ready. That was the point of the whole day to relax and have a great day before Katie walked down the aisle. About 2 hours before the sun was scheduled to set we headed back to the boat that would take us to my bungalow. The guys would be getting ready at Katie and Chris’s place so we took over mine and Robert’s. 

Thankfully the island had a dream team on staff that was already waiting for us when we walked in the door. God bless Robert for staying until they arrived. An hour later and we were all dressed and ready for Katie to say her I do’s. The boat ride seemed to take forever and if it seemed that way for me I could only imagine how Katie was feeling. From where the boat was riding the water I could see the huge hut that the ceremony would take place and guests were already being seated. One thing that I absolutely loved about Katie’s wedding attire was there were no shoes involved, even though the hut had a floor her and Chris wanted to keep with the beach feel and go barefoot. 

As we stepped off of the boat and onto the cooling sand, I could hear the music flowing from the hut in soothing tunes from a violin and piano. I turned in the direction of the hut to see that the tiki-torches lining the walkway had already been lit and the lights in the hut had been lowered. The wedding was going to begin as soon as the sun had finishing setting. The hut stood out beautifully in contrast to the slow darkening surroundings. It was set half on the sand and half in the water on stilts. The top half looked like a hut while the bottom half was completely open with wide arched window like doorways that had white curtains outlining them. 

Once we were placed at the end of the deck like walkway, I could see the guys at the end of the aisle patiently waiting. I could hear the music change to that of what the bridesmaid would enter in on and took a deep breath. Katie was lucky I loved her as much as I did because being any type of center of attention was not my idea of fun. Then again it wasn’t hers either, but that went hand in hand with being the bride. Ok now I was kind of dreading getting married. Thankfully no heels to make me trip up so I was good to go. When I saw that Avery and Reagan had taken their places at the front I made my way in to round out the end of the bridesmaid’s music. 

After I made my way down the aisle and settled into my spot the officiator motioned for everyone to stand, I had already seen Katie dressed so I turned my attention to Chris. I wouldn’t miss this for the world. I don’t think I have ever seen a man look as awed as he did at this exact moment. I could see Katie at the end of the aisle from the corner of my eyes, but I couldn’t drag my eyes away from how happy Chris looked. Once Katie made her way down the aisle, Chris was there to meet her. Katie handed me her bouquet and Chris wrapped her hands in his. 

The ceremony was beautiful and in anyone in that hut could tell how in love these two people were. I couldn’t stop myself from shedding quite a few tears at how peaceful and wonderful the whole thing was. When the vows had been said and the officiator announced them as husband and wife the place erupted in applause. Chris dipped Katie down and kissed her like there was no one else in the world around, which I guess is fitting seeing as that’s how he’s looked at her since they first met. The reception was going to be held at one of the restaurants across the beach, so while everyone left to head that way the wedding party stayed to take some pictures. 

Robert and Tom stuck around until after all the pictures were finished and we all headed to the reception. After the wedding party was announced, the DJ had everyone welcome the new Mr. and Mrs. Evans and let them take the dance floor for their first official dance as a married couple. The only thing that accompanied the music that was played for their dance was the sound of awes and the flash of cameras. The night went from there with lots of dancing and drinking in celebration of the new couple. At the end of the reception the DJ announced for everyone to go out to the beach, once everyone made their way out the sky was lit up with fireworks. This had to be the most perfect July 4th that I have ever had in my life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've actually hit the end of what I've already pre-written so chapters will take a little bit longer to post. Please be patient with me <3


	24. Moving

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while since I've posted and you guys have been super patient. I don't actually know how much longer I will continue on with this one. I do have an outline of a few more things I want to get done but it will come to a close soon. 
> 
> It's not a very long chapter, which I do apologize for, but hopefully it will keep y'all going until I can sit down and focus more on this. I have been working on a few more stories so my brain has been quite scattered. 
> 
> Enjoy my loves!
> 
> I still don't own real life people... I know what a shame!

After the weekend ended we all headed back to our respective states and homes, except Katie and Chris obviously they were on their way to their honeymoon. I was happy to be going back home, but wasn’t terribly thrilled with all the packing I needed to get done. The big move was coming up soon and I couldn’t even get Reagan to help me because she was busy packing too. If that wasn’t enough stress, my window of time on wedding planning was getting smaller and smaller. Thankfully when I get settled into our home in New York I could harass Avery into helping me since she had already reigned me in to help plan her big Halloween party in October.   
The end of July hit before I even blinked, I swear it. I had already told my mom goodbye the night before and Reagan and Katie would be helping with packing the last things in the moving truck in roughly an hour I was telling them goodbye. Robert had already flown out to New York with Hank and Sherlock this morning so they would be settled by the time I got there. I was driving at night so there wouldn’t be as much traffic on the road and I was a night owl so this worked better for me. Once everything was packed and I checked the house I said my goodbyes and was off.

The drive to New York was long, tiresome and just plain boring when alone. I finally arrived around noon the following day. Once parked, I stood outside gawking at the beauty that is the Plaza Hotel and Residence that held Robert and I’s new condo. I couldn’t wait to get upstairs and actually see our home in person. After grabbing my purse and locking the moving truck, I made my stiff muscles move to the door, honestly I was just ready for a nap more than anything. Making my way to the elevators I punched in the floor number and waited patiently for it to move to the designated spot. I still couldn’t believe I had up and moved to New York or that one of my dearest friends and sister moved across the country, things were changing at the speed of light it seemed for my family and friends.

Katie and Chris were already settled in their new house and still had that newlywed glow, while Reagan and Sebastian were still going strong as a couple. Things with Avery and Tom couldn’t have been any better. I would be seeing Avery as soon as I was settled and have gotten some sleep. Speaking of I was so lost in thought that I hadn’t even noticed the elevator had finally stopped. Walking down the hall I started feeling a little nervous, which is just silly since it was my home too, but moving in with Robert was a big step. It’s normal to be nervous about this… Right?!?!?! 

I dug my keys out of my purse and unlocked our door with the key that Robert had left with me before he left with the animals the day before and was instantly knocked over by Hank who came bounding through the condo as soon as he heard the door open. 

“Dear Lord, Hank get off of me now before I sell you to the Chinese Restaurant down the road.” I yelled while pushing him off of me so I could set my stuff down on the table by the door. 

“Well look who finally decided to come home.” I turned to see Robert leaning against his piano that was on the right side of the massive living room.

“I would have been here sooner, but someone had to drive the moving truck, which by the way it’s still downstairs in the parking lot.” I said while walking over to where he was. 

“I told you there are plenty of moving companies we could have hired to pack, move and unpack you love.” He said leaning down to place a kiss on my lips. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too, but I told you that I had no clue what I did and didn’t want to take from my house to our house so there honestly wasn’t any reason to hire someone when I’m fully capable of doing it myself, but I wouldn’t mind hiring someone to unpack. I have no desire to carry any of that up here.” I looked around to see that our new home was already furnished with the items we picked out after buying the place. “I know we walked this while it was empty but what you’ve had done to it since then is amazing.”

“I wanted it to be just the way you wanted it before you got here. The only thing left is to put your personal touches on the rooms and set up your office and then it will be perfect, but that can wait. Would you like a tour of everything first, then I’ll call the moving people while you take a nap. I have a surprise for you later tonight.” Hmmm… his surprises are usually pretty great, but what could be better than finally being here with him in our home?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What could the surprise be???


End file.
